Very late to the party, I agree with about everything posted. OP should have his heat pump system checked out. Pellet stoves are less trouble/ time commitment to operate, but you are stuck paying market price for a product.
Air leaks, within reason, should be fixed no matter what fuel is used for heat. I can probably seal my house up a little bit tighter without needing a separate air intake for my stove, but I still have enough air turnover that I don't seem to have mold problems. I use chalk during the winter to mark noticeable leaks, then get busy with caulk and spray foam in the summer when the products can cure correctly. I suggest "drafty house heat" thread started by Jotul in the last couple weeks, good reading.
Might be a good idea to beg/borrow a chainsaw (and safety gear) to process the logs on the ground now, get them split and stacked, even do just one cord. Once you have that one cord split and stacked expecting it to be dry enough to burn well Oct 2015, how much time did it take to process that one cord, how much can you sell it for, how much can you buy it for - delivered- and how much will the BTUs in that cord save off your regular heating bill? Was it fun? How much will you save if you cancel your gym membership and become one of us? Do you own a truck?
A free standing stove stove, cat or non cat, soapstone or not, convection or not, (My Ashford 30 I think is a catalytic convection stove, yes?) should get the wifey warm enough for, umm, anything without too much trouble.
Depending on how many dollars per hour you make at your regular job, it might make sense to have a pro come in, harvest your dead trees and leave you with a big pile of stove length splits that you will need to stack and season before burning.
Stoves are very much like chainsaws. If you are choosing between comparable Husqvarna and Stihls the correct question is not "which saw is better" (they are both good), but rather which dealership service department do I want to deal with for the next several years.
I upgraded this year from a ten year old non-cat to a brand new cat equipped stove. I am not going back to a non cat, but I am in a position to feed my new cat a steady diet of 12-16% MC splits. Mine will run on 20% MC, but not as well. If you can split small and season quick the latest cat stoves will give you incredibly long burns and very good thermostatic control (mine is a Blaze King). I am lead to understand that non-cat performance has come a LONG way since my last stove was manufactured. On two acres with a house and detached 2 car garage having this years wood in a shed and next years wood out on seasoning racks should be doable, getting another year ahead would be highly desirable. If you break a leg or something having that bonus year already in the pipeline will keep your stove running uninterrupted.
A vertical flue with no elbows in it can be cleaned from indoors fairly easily. With a new stove I started with a clean flue, burnt one cord, swept, burnt a second cord, swept; I am comfortable going four or five cords before I sweep again, because I know what happens with my wood in my stove with my install.
Best wishes for a happy new year, thank you for reading first and asking second.