Hey, glad I can be of some help! My portfolio is tragically outdated at this point (all college stuff), but you can take a look at it at nicoledubeta.com. I've been lucky enough to work on Disney shows for the past three years, so I haven't had much time at all in terms of personal stuff since then.

1. Loomis is a great, classic way to approach figure drawing but I found that the Mannakin method made my stuff really stiff and lifeless--it was good when I was just starting out trying to figure out proportions but after I had that figured out I didn't use it much afterwards. It is great for preliminary stuff figuring out the angles/line of action and whatnot, but the more anatomy you know the better. I found Bridgman really helpful when it came to anatomy (he has an almost architectural approach to the figure). Mike Mattesi's 'Force' is great when it comes to pushing the pose and understanding all the different forces coming to play in a pose to really push the dynamism of what you're drawing. I'd also HIGHLY reccommend Walt Stanchfield's 'Drawn to Life' series: he was the figure drawing instructor at Disney for ages and his lessons are amazing in terms of using figure drawing to inspire animation posing--not so much about analytical lifedrawing but more about taking the model's pose and pushing it.
   

That's rather a mouthful--basically when it comes to lifedrawing I read a lot of books and threw myself to free drawing class as much as I could. There were some figure drawers at my college who were there about three hours every single day and I can't claim to have been that dedicated or accomplished, but the more you attend the more you're going to achieve.

1. I've been really lucky in the industry based on the time I graduated and the first studio I worked at being willing to train me in ToonBoom. Right now there's a glut of opportunities in Canada and a lot of studios are really having a tough time getting qualified people on the job--the studio I'm at right now has hired a very green (and international) crew with lots of graduates, so there are definitely opportunities north of the border. I think work in the States is probably a bit harder to find since Canada's tax breaks mean that a lot of jobs have migrated here, and I know that union stuff in California means that there's mostly only preproduction work there. In terms of connections--it has been three years since I graduated and at this stage in my life my former classmates are the people I'd approach if I were looking for work. If your classmates land good jobs and know you to be a hardworking, talented individual they'll let hiring know. I'm not much of a self-promoter or a schmoozer, but I haven't had trouble meeting people in the industry who'd put in a good word for me either.

My own personal experience in the industry has been challenging and at times quite frustrating too. The first studio I was at taught me a lot and I think I grew by leaps and bounds as an animator, but it really ground me down as a person based on the lack of work/life balance. I was putting in crazy hours for two solid years and I personally don't want to live that way for the rest of my life. I'm at a different, smaller studio now which has its pros and cons--much more of a human aspect but less organization, which can be very stressful. I think if you can find a niche where you can do work you find personally satisfying without murdering yourself, you'll do just fine--this job is much closer but still perhaps not quite the right fit for me.

If UCLB is the same as CSULB, then I've known a couple people who attended--I met some talented people at a workshop in Monterey a few years back that were in the animation program. The professor that headed up that particular workshop teaches there too (Aubry Mintz), and I found him to be passionate and very engaged with the students, so if he's anything to go by I think that would be a fine choice.

The last question is such a tough one--I had four years of college to work it out and I had plenty of doubts and feelings of being inadequate--still do. There's so many amazing people out there and so many paths to go down. Really what I think it comes down to is finding that little corner of the industry you love and sticking to it. The people I knew in college who loved drawing landscapes and cars do layouts and prop design now, the passionate painters are in background painting and the people who loved moving things animate. If you can find the thing in the field that really fires you up and study whatever inspires and engages you with fanatacism (if there's a scene in an animated film that strikes you like lightning, dissect it frame by frame trying to figure out why). Mix and mash styles based on what you like and eventually you'll find your own voice too. The really frustrating secret is that there are very few innately talented artists out there. Most of us have to really work for it, and I know I'll never really feel like I've gotten to be the calibre of artist I want to be either. But you can close in on it, and that feels amazing.

I hope that was at least a little bit of help--if you've got anything else to ask fire away and I'll try to respond in a relatively timely fashion. Good luck out there!