Your fork may not have a lockout but I would bet that it has preload adjusters. Look for little knobs on the top of the fork legs. Turn them clockwise to firm up the ride.
Can you tell us what kind of fork you have? Maybe someone has some experience with them.
A Eureka Tetragon 5 tent is $60 at Campmor. It's a two person, two pole, square dome, double wall tent.
Delightfully easy to set up and comfortable.
How much cheaper could a hammock be?
The length of the bike is more crucial than the height. As I said, you should have to lean forward a little bit to reach the handlebar. If this is not the case you may be able to remedy it with a longer stem. If your stem is 100mm long putting on a 130mm stem would increase the reach by about an 1 1/4". That doesn't sound like much but it is in terms of bike fit. You can also slide the saddle as far back as possible to lengthen the cockpit.
32 spoke mountain bike wheels are plenty strong for touring. The condition of you wheels is more of a concern. Are any of the spokes pulling through the rim? Do you see any cracks around the area where the spoke passes through the rim? Clean the wheels thoroughly to be able to see this. There may be tiny cracks that you won't see on a dirty wheel. Take off the wheels, hold them by the skewers and spin them.
Are they smooth? After ten years you should clean and regrease them. Remove the cones and axles. Wipe out the hubs and look at the bearing surfaces. Are they scored? Clean the bearings in solvent, let them dry thoroughly, pack them with grease, put some grease in the hub bearing sufaces and on the cones, and reassemble. Adjust the cones just to the point that there is no play. Put each wheel back in the frame without the tire installed. Squirt a little WD40 on each nipple. Go around the wheel and tighten any loose spokes and loosen any tight spokes. Make sure your using the right size spoke key. Do not try and turn a spoke that won't turn easily. Keep applying WD40 until they turn easily. You may have to wait overnight on some spokes, be patient. The object is to have even spoke tension all the way around. If after you do this and the wheel is wobbly then you'll have to true it. Move one of the brake pads near the rim to use as a guide.
Go with the fattest tires you can get. I think that you'll be less tired at the end of the day.
Do not inflate them to the maximum pressure on the sidewall, they'll ride too hard.
Put just enough air in them to eliminate bulging when you're riding the bike.
For example, a Schwalbe Big Apple 26 x 2.0 has a max PSI of 70. I only run 40 PSI in mine. They still roll fast but they are much more comfortable.