Chuck, you by chance have a better pic of the fire basket? I need to make 2 new ones and i'm looking for better ideas, preferably w/ an ash pan. Also, the fridge magnets (not sure if that's what you mean by strip magnets) work well for a cook or two, but melt away. Even though I grab them everywhere I go, I can't seem to keep a steady supply. I got a whole mess of thick ones from Harbor Freight that work great, and won't melt. Nice looking build, should give you years of great service.
Also, I don't know if you've run a UDS before, but watch the distance of top of your firebox to the food grate. Looking at yours, you might be running your food grate too low. Rule of thumb is 24"
minimum, but I find it necessary to run a diffuser since 24" is almost impossible to achieve without lid modification. What you end up with is a grill.
Some guys here have more experience w/ UDS's than me, but on my 2 units, that what i've found to be true. Might save you some charred meat and wasted $$.