Hey guys, just wanted to follow-up on this. I just received e-mails earlier this afternoon that both of my Form 1's were approved!
Looks like it took a total of 38 days for the approval on these including weekends. I am not complaining about that at all!
I just ordered one of the PTAC SS 8.5" 300 Blackout barrels from PSA yesterday because the price was just too good to pass up. It came out to be $88 shipped. I don't have extremely high expectations for this barrel, but I figured I would give it a shot to see how it does (literally). I am still looking for a stripped upper, but I'll probably just get a forged Mega to match the lower. As far as rails go, I really like the Fortis REV, but I think I might hold out until they come out with their Switch rail in .223/5.56 in order to get rid of the lower picatinny rail that feels odd when I grip the REV that I have on one of my other rifles. I will probably end up going with a 9" rail. I have a few extra BCM gunfighter Mod 3 and 4's laying around so I'll probably use one of those on this build. I am still up in the air as to which BCG I want to use. I like the idea of nickel boron, but don't know if I like the prices that much. However, AIM Surplus and PSA have some reasonable prices on their versions. As far as optics go, I just got a Primary Arms 1-6x ACSS and have been using it on my other rifle with an Aero Precision lightweight extended mount. I really like this scope and mount combo and I am highly considering going with another one when they release the 300 Blackout BDC version.
As for the 5.56mm lower, I am not set on any specific build yet. I just wanted to get the lowers approved while the approval process is going so quickly. I will probably look at 10.5" barrels from either DD, Wilson Combat, Rainier, etc...
Anyways, thanks for all of the replies and advice. I'll be sure to post some pics of the builds as I get parts in.