Any Advice for Informed but First Time Users

Hello fellow R7000 Users,

I just picked up a R7000 yesterday to replace a much older Netgear router. In the past I have read up on the benifits of flashing 3rd party firmware and DD-WRT seemed to be the clear winner. However, there was very little support for my old router and I never actually pulled the trigger and tried it out. That being said, I have spent countless hours learning about home networking (mostly through trial & error and breaking stuff).

After reading up on the release notes and change-logs, it looks like Kong's build is the clear winner. I'm planning to give it a go when I get home today. That being said, I thougt I would ask around for some general tips before doing it. I also had a few questions that I was hoping someone might have the answer to. 

I understand that flashing DD-WRT is a simple process, especially when it is supported by Netgear. However I did not see any specific guides for how-tos with the R7000. After reading up on the ones available, my plan is as follows

• Download Kong 23430
• Back up stock router settings and save on computer
• Hardwire laptop
• Flash Kong as manual upgrade
• Configure and save new settings

I understand that reverting to stock should be as simple as downloading & flashing stock firmware then reloading settings. 

In addition, has anyone noticed any disadvantages to DD-WRT such as losing the built in Up/Down QOS functionality that Netgear keeps updated or other issues?

I know this is a long post and I appreciate those of you who stuck with it long enough to get here. Those who didn't:

TLDR:

 Does anyone have any advice for someone who will be flashing DD-WRT for the first time?