[capnq]

Please tell me there is an easier way to transfer fuel/supplies to advancing fleets than to have endlessly cycling Supply Ships at great cost and management. I have to sort of "leap frog" them and cycle them back and forth to keep my fleets moving.

A short-term option is to send along colonizers to set up Resupply Depots along the way.

A medium-term option is to research Astrophysics, then Stellar Harnessing, which gets you Solar Collectors, which produce supplies in systems with stars.

A long-term option is to research Resupply up to level 5, where you get Quantum Reactors, which produce infinite supplies.

Is there any point (size/armour) at which I'm guaranteed a Black Hole won't cause me problems

200 points of armor will get you through a standard damaging warp point. Surviving the Black Hole itself requires 5000 points. (These numbers may be different in some quadrant mods.)