I'm currently Delta Gold and United 1P (will be 1K once the 2EQM promotion is processed). I haven't flown Delta very much so far this year, and find myself flying Alaska more often for my domestic flights (I mainly fly *A for int'l). I'm thinking about trying to get a status match with Alaska (probably based on my Delta status, although theoretically using my United status), and after reading this thread I have a few questions about status matching:

1. If I were to match with AS soon (some time this month), would it be valid for the entirety of 2010 (i.e. for the next 18 months) or just through 2009 (i.e. next ~7 months?
2. If the status match were only valid for the rest of 2009, would i need to fly the entire 40/50K miles in 7 months to requalify as MVP Gold next year? (Not sure if I'll be able to do that... if that is the case I may just wait to status match next year)
3. Does it make a difference whether I try to match using UA vs DL status? Should I use both? (If it's relevant to this decision: I plan to retain my UA status, whereas I'll probably be letting my DL status drop at the end of the year. If I get AS status I will also plan on retaining it in future years.)
4. Is it wise/unwise to call an AS CSR to get more information about potential status match (such as when it would expire)? Is this akin to showing them my hand?

I live in SEA and fully intend to retain AS status in future years-- this isn't a one-time stealth status match attempt. I just want to make sure that if I match I won't lose my status next year. I fly enough in 12 months to easily keep MVP Gold-- just not sure if I could retain it based solely on the 2nd half of the year.