1. Only the Lua script version of starting & controlling sounds has the option to store & set the current playtime. There's also a pause toggle & stop function for Lua started sounds.
2. hmm not sure. If you include the shaderExclude option somewhere then you can have the shader ignore: text, cursors & interfaces etc.
game.ShaderExclude = eShaderExcludeInterfaces -- excludes text, cursors & interfaces, or...
game.ShaderExclude = eShaderExcludeTextsAndCursor -- excludes text & cursors, or...
game.ShaderExclude = eShaderExcludeCursor -- excludes cursors.
...I can't really say anything much about the text, but it might be worth considering forcing the position of it with the setTextPosition hook function.