Are you surprised that it's getting harder as you move further along the saga? Though I agree with your sentiment about timed levels, that doesn't mean everyone does. I know it's hard to fathom but some people like them (my girlfriend being one of them) and just because you and I don't like them doesn't mean they should…
Have you tried running the Windows troubleshooter app? https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/instantanswers/69e76f90-d54c-44cf-9851-c2d1542790db/run-the-troubleshooter-for-windows-apps
When you try to log into your Kingdom account you should see a link to use if you've forgotten your password. If you don't see it I am sure it'll come up once you make a failed login attempt.
Not seen this one yet, must be a new feature. If you can share a screenshot of it that would be super useful, will see if I can find any more info on it.
It's comes down to programming and the major drawback to running a game directly from a website on a browser as apposed to having the game app installed on your device.
Probably suggested friends, you get that with Kingdom so i reckon that's where they're coming from. Considering how Facebook works, I would be surprised if they managed to give you suggested friends from Facebook itself. What do the profile pics look like, game avatars by any chance?
Have you already gone through the steps here to see if it syncs again: https://care.king.com/en/candy-crush-saga/lost-your-connection-to-facebook-android