Hello! @1: I never crate-trained my dog, because mine had the same problem as yours - she never really got in, and if she did, she sure as hell did everything to get out of it. But, just for the fun it it, has absolutely no problem sleeping in a cardbord box (when it's on its side) - probably because she knows she can just chew right through it? :D Either way, I never really needed a crate anyway. My dog isn't chewing cables anymore. Or books. Or DVDs. Or furniture. Or the walls. And I have no intention on flying anywhere with her (I just hate flying myself xD) - so what do I need a crate for really?

You said, you never really saw a need for crate training. Well, you already have a crate (I gifted mine to an animal shelter), so why not train it? Just be patient, maybe it works somewhen, maybe not ;)

@2: To feed the dog more or less at the same time every day has (in my opinion) only one advantage: The dog also poops more or less at the same time every day :D My dog is, again, the same as yours: I just filled her bowl with the daily allowed amount in the morning - and she ate it somewhen over the course of the day. Additionally, if I give her something else (treats, a pigs ear, a marrow bone, whatever) she basically just eats less kibble - the same, if she gets some wet pet food (I normally give her so twice to three-times a week a can, which is half of the daily amount), she just eats less kibble. I looked after this for about 1,5 years (she is nearly 2 years now), and just stopped caring on the kibbles. Now I fill them when they are empty, and my dogs eats when she is hungry. Of course, she also craps up to 4-times on a day sometimes - but she can hold it for as long as necessary normally, so that's not really a problem for me ;)

In my experience, people that say it is very important to feed the dog only during a certain time the allowed amount and just take it away after some time when anything is left - they normally don't really have a choice: the food bowl is emptied the instant it is on the ground.