I had never soldered before yesterday and have a perfect laser today. Everyone here can help you, but you need to read up on stuff first. You can make a good phr laser for 80 dollars, and not much less. Trust me, it will be great for that price.
I built my first laser today. :D I say built but all I did was solder 2 wires together. The rest (and as much information as I wanted) came from daguin. He stepped me through everything, and even was kind enough to sell me a phr module. He deserves a medal, and I thank him a lot.
Now about...
I was just saying my personal preference, so don't really listen to me. I am not too active on LPF yet as I have not actually received a laser yet. (DX shipping= forever)
You can get the PHR installed in an aixiz on the forum for about 20 dollars shipped.
The rkcstr driver is fine.
For a host I would recommend the MXDL 3405 with a jayrob heatsink, 2 10440 batteries and a charger.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3405
That should work, except I do not know if the voltage will be a problem. You are also not going down the most cost effective route.
Here is what I would do. (I am doing almost the same thing now except with a reassembled module, that are now sold out)
Driver: Either of your originals will work...
h ttp ://store.oemlasersystems.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=420
It looks like that is what I will be getting. Certified and cheap shipping. (Remove spaces of course)