Proper Installations and Uses of Mods Thread

I have played Freelancer since it came out (Yeah, I am an old guy!). I have not used Mods and would now like to. I'm not too "hip" about proper installs and uses, so I am some questions for help:

I want to use FreelancerHD (v.06), ModManager (v1.3) and Genesis (v1.5).

I have Freelancer installed from original CD (with no patches) on a Windows 7 PC and have completed the game and am continuing on (since I love the Nomad Cannons)!

My questions are as follows:
1. Do I need a patch?
2. What is the proper order of installing what I want?
3. What is the proper way to use them?
4. Can I install and be able to proceed from my current Saved game or need I start the game over?
5. Does FreelancerHD replace the vanilla version? And if so, do I need to uninstall my vanilla version first?

I would greatly appreciate any help, suggestions, advice!

GunnyMike