RE: Running brushless at less than rated volts?
You can wire up your own series connectors or use commercial ones.
The latter is a good idea and will prevent you from having to modify anything you already have.
Plus you'll get more bang for the buck too. Your add-on packs can be used on or for other planes too.
The ideal situation is to get a set of batteries of the same brand that you have now so both chemistry and resistance, etc. are identical.