I've not used the pads you speak of personally. I stick to the LC products most times.
But are you sure you're spending enough time in each place? Are up applying enough pressure?
To remove swirls and scratches you have to have heat which comes from the friction. You want to put enough pressure to mash the pad to the surface, but not so much that it stalls or slows the buffer.
I highly recommend you get a grit guard or 2. They sell them online all day long, lol Try
http://www.detailedimage.com
With a black truck you for sure need to use one to keep from scratching the truck more. You method is good, but do the same thing and use a grit guard and you'll drastically help your outcome.
As far as a citrus wash, it's important to strip the old wax. However, if you're doing a complete detail and actually using compound on the car, the compound should get rid of the wax, too.
If you are just going to strip the car and put on new wax then I'd say it's pretty important. A clay bar will remove some wax, but it's not designed specifically to remove wax. So, depending on how much wax you have on the car and how durable the wax is, the clay bar might take it all off and it might not.
I'd use a good citrus wash as directed before the clay bar, to be sure.
As far as drying. . . . .
A leaf blower does not come in contact with the paint, so it is the best method, period. Any time you touch or rub on the paint it's possible to put in scratches. However, with PROPER technique you can use a MF to dry and be ok. You just have to be careful with your pressure. You also want to go in straight lines to prevent swirling. Using a QD during drying is a good idea, too.
You want to make sure with a dark car that you are not in the sun during any of the washing and drying process or you WILL have waterspots. Drying in the sun will also cause streaking on dark cars.
With that being said, I use MF to dry everything but my Mustang (it's my only black vehicle) MFs are just way quicker than a leaf blower.