The late style struts may look ugly, but they go nearly forever. The early style are a lot more likely to need replacing. When you get to taking those sliders apart, grab all 4 springs and stretch them open until the ends are a good half inch further apart than what they started at.Try to get them close to the same.
I don't get "tabs". Are you talking about the shift levers that are located in the cover? The only time I might consider changing them is if the stud threads are stripped, or if the flats that locate the external levers are severely rounded.
It would help if you could find a picture and learn the names of all the parts.
