A question about the DIY option: Is this something someone with no modding experience and only rudimentary familiarity with Python can realistically accomplish? How big a project would this be?
It is. Hardpoints are for the most part pretty straight-forward. Things like getting the hitpoints and shield strength where you want them, phaser output, and torpedo loadouts one can probably figure out just by looking through the hardpoint, since those things stand out. I'd say the trickiest part is learning how to balance them all to each other, and getting the warp core and subsystem power outputs to your liking; also, pulse-weapon and tractor systems can be a bit screwy compared to the other subsystems. Either way, I can create a little tutorial thread separately here soon.
And I'd certainly be interested in trying out the mod you made yourself (as would be others I imagine, if this is a common criticism); I wouldn't want you to unduly inconvenience yourself on my account, though.
No trouble at all, just a matter of shooting some emails off
It's a pretty basic update, not anywhere near the scale of either SuperMod or the SP Maelstrom mod that Lurok was creating some time ago, but I've found that for single player, minimal is better and much more stable.