I took some more steps to test out the materials and equipment.
The Ilfochrome developing tube takes only 250ml of fluid so I was concerned whether the paper would get enough/even development. It turns out that the HDPP gets real flexible when wet and also sticks pretty tightly to the tube wall. With a pre-wet, this should allow developing more than one 4x5 sheet together without overlap.
If hung up and left to itself, HDPP dries with a LOT of curl (see pic below). Now after being pressed overnight it has flattened a bit, so I will leave it in a bit longer to see what it does. Its in Horan's Matthew Brady biography, which seems fitting since it's orthochromatic and prints will be backward.
I checked out one of the Revere print driers from the pile, and it heats up nicely, so next move might be to wet the paper again and see how that comes out.
It's really interesting how this project is finally backing my way into darkroom work. The next steps will likely be to either develop the 2 sheets I exposed on Monday, or cut out some black sheet plastic and see how dark the bathroom will get and set up the Durst F-60 for pre-flashing.
Curled HDPP after air drying: