As for the crank, I don't know enough for a definative answer but I would guess Record would be the way to go over Nouvo.
Not sure what this means. There's no such difference, as there's really no such thing as "Nuovo Record" cranks (at least until very late in the game, and even then I'm not sure). There's a Nuovo Record bottom bracket, and a Nuovo Record rear derailleur. But that crankset was always "Record." The name didn't change when the bolt circle diameter did.