Regarding (1)
User Agniusm has a new pack with this layout
2 cells connected P-P & N-N (no fuse), The first cell is hard connected to second, the second is fused to the bus bar.
As I reread the OP, I may have misunderstood.
The above layout by Agniusm may be ok with correct size fuse, but what you do not want to do is this layout
2 cells connected P-P & N-N (with fuse), The first cell is fused to second, the second is fused to the bus bar.
Regarding point #2, it may be how everything looks on my screen with how the bus markers line up with the +/- markers in row above ( formatting of 7s40p has everything shifted over on my screen)
s20p
Top:
. + - + - + - +
. | | |P
( In above there is one 20 cell rows of + with a bus wire running down side, This same buss wire then connects to one adjacent 20 cell rows of - ). Pretty standard layout, so I was just confessed by on screen formatting.
7s40p
Top:
. +_+ -_- +_+ -_- +_+ -_- +_+
. |___| |___| |___| P
( In above there are two 20 cell rows of + with a bus wire running down center making the 40P, This same buss wire then loops over and runs down center of two 20 cell rows of - ). Pretty standard layout, so I was just confessed by on screen formatting which is off again in my example