First ditch the Edge and get yourself a custom tuned SCT from either Eric at Innovative Diesel or Cale at BTS. And ditch the K/N. I would recommend a either an S&B or Airraid intake.
Second, hard start issues are usually due to bad injectors. I would place my money on a faulty injector.
Third, I would invest in both a coolant filtration system and an oil filtration system. That way you have some cheap insurance for your injectors.
Fourth, I would get a fuel system. 6.0's that run a chip for any length of time eventually wear out the fuel pump, it becomes weak and doesn't deliver enough fuel, the ICP (injector control pressure) will drop as a result.
Fifth, I would invest in an exhaust. Doesn't really matter what brand, because pipe is pipe. Exhaust will not mess with anything or put your truck in danger in any way shape or form.
Other than that, the plan you have looks good.