First of all, I don't know anyone who thinks removing a hood by yourself is a good idea.
The previous owner of my Blazer had hacked the wiring in all kinds of weird ways. There were wire nuts everywhere. I rewired the whole truck.
As far as upgrades, I put in relays for the headlights and replaced the headlights with Hella headlights. They're a little flatter than the stock headlights, but aside from that you can't tell they're not stock, and they put out great light.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I also put in a CS130 alternator, but that was primarily because I used the serpentine system from a 98 Chevy truck.
One word of advice: take lots of pictures and label everything. If you're like me, you won't remember everything you think you will.