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I use both an Astromaster 114EQ and a FirstScope. A while ago I went through all the eyepieces that came with both scopes looking at a distant object during the day. I was clear just how bad and varied the image quality is through the eyepieces. Poor contrast, lots of chromatic aberation, etc.
I bought two Baader Hyperions (8mm and 21mm (I had reasons for not getting the zoom at the same price)). These are great eyepieces and now both scopes which I was very disappointed with initially are now very usable. I know people are divided about the wide view eyepieces but I really like the Hyperions wide field of view as it helps me find my targets easier while I'm learning the skies. Cheap glass is not going to let your scope perform at its best, so I recommend spending the money and get a couple of quality eyepieces. One of the factors for getting the Hyperions is they can be used on either 1.25" or 2" focusers, so when I get a better scope then I already have good eyepieces ready to use. It may seem silly putting such larger and expensive eyepieces on the FirstScope but its made it a seriously good little scope to use even sitting on the desk inside looking out through the window.
Can't help with mount advice, I've decided to stick with the manual mount and learn about how to better balance the scope and isolate vibrations more. I also find manually finding targets and tracking helps me learn where things are, how much of the sky the eyepieces cover (so using the Sky Atlas I have a better idea what to look for through the eyepiece), and how fast the sky moves across the eyepiece.
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