yup, have seen tons of Fox forks with stanchions like that. when I bought my Fox 40, the guys at the LBS said the same thing - if it starts leaking, get the seals fixed immediately.
luckily, every LBS in western Canada will likely have seals in stock.
Coop - it's easy to mount a chainguide to your bike, e13 makes a bottom-bracket mounted plate that allows you to bolt a guide onto almost any bike. I have one on my Bullit. as for your brakes, I wouldn't let anyone at COP even wash my bikes, you would be far better off getting your bike serviced at a true LBS like Bow, CC, the Bike Shop etc. for your rear spring, the correct spring rate should give you 25-30% rear sag for DH (give or take). several good spring rate calculators online that you can use to figure out which one is correct for your weight.
on a side note, just ordered a Banshee Darkside frame! stealth black w/ Cane Creek DBair.
I just need some restraint now, because carbon wheels and a new front fork (380ti) are tempting the itshay out of me...