[jimbob55]

1. When you start a game, go to the 'Game setup'-> 'Game settings' screen. There is an option :Player can see complete tech tree.

If you tick that box (green blob it or whatever) a button on the research screen (it could be somewhere else) will allow you to view the tech levels + the tech levels in whole. It shows all the dependencies (Quite badly, but it does).

2. Making them happy means keeping treaties, not colonising planets they could colonise. As long as the aliens don't see your colonies, they don't mind them.
The aliens declaring war on you could be because you've gone for an alliance that lets them see your colonies and they suddenly get very annoyed at you for taking 'their' planets. The other option is that yuou are playing with Mega Evil Empire on, when your score gets to 200% of the second player (or lower, I modded mine) everyone will declare war on you 'because your growth threatens all races....'

3. Cloaked ships do trigger mines.