Hi dmhawk,
I'm not in any way qualified to give advice - this is my first year of doing overseas tax returns so I'm just another punter - but I'll tell you what we did for each of your questions. Others can correct me if I'm wrong.
You probably know that June 15th is the deadline for overseas residents (but I believe it's the postmark date that matters, not the arrival date).
I assume you've had fun reading through publication 54 :-) - if not, that explains everything, though it's not the clearest of documents.
1. As far as I know, there is no benefit to choosing Bona Fide residence over Physical Presence - someone with more knowledge can correct me if that's not so. If, during 2009*, you have been in the US less than (I think) 35 days, you qualify for the Physical Presence test.
But: looking at 2555-EZ, it looks as though it asks 'were you a bona fide resident? if yes, go to question 3' (paraphrasing). So if, as you're suggesting, you were a bona fide resident, it may be that you have to tick Yes, and won't get the chance to even answer question 2.
2. a) Sorry, I don't know what to do in this situation. You may want to file for 2008 first?
b) We wrote 'not on business', just to be explicit, and then '-0-' for income.
c) We chose Physical Presence, so I don't know what to write here if you chose Bona Fide. If you're doing Physical Presence, it depends. What did you write on line 2b? If you wrote 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2009, write 365. This has nothing to do with the number of days spent in the US as answered in Part III (though this of course has to be less than 35).
The reason they ask this is that, you'll see line 2a they ask 'were you physically present in a foreign country for at least 330 days during 2009 or any period of 12 months in a row starting or ending in 2009?' (emphases mine). If it's the latter, you're only allowed to count the days which fell in 2009 towards the test.
3. a) Yeah, sorry, you have to fill in the full 1040. We left it blank when something didn't apply to us.
b) You still have to enter your full wages on line 7, regardless of the fact that they are included on the 2555-EZ. Don't write them in parentheses on line 7. Writing them in parentheses (as on line 21) is like putting a minus sign in front of them.
c) Depends on your situation. If you had no bank interest income, and no other type of income, and the figure in line 21 is the negative equal to the figure in line 7, it may well be that your gross income is zero. If you follow the arithmetic in the way the form tells you, you should be ok.
d) No idea about student loans, sorry.
Hope this is at least partly helpful :-). IRS Publication 54 is worth printing out and reading properly, as it explains everything you need to know with regard to foreign earned income. Also read the instructions for 2555-EZ.
Finally, if you have more than $10,000 in total in non-US bank accounts, you'll need to file form TDF 90-22.1. You have until June 30 to do this (for 2009), so there's still time, but the penalties for not doing so are severe. Others can offer advice on that. You don't file this with your tax return - a separate address is given in the form's instructions.
* Or any period starting or ending in 2009. See my answer to question 2.
