Scott,
I know (from previous posts of yours) that you've been down the custom build road with other guitar builders in the past, so I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but try to enjoy the process and do your best to throw the calendar away.
I never asked for a timeline on the Elan I had Alembic build for me and I'm glad I didn't- it was hard enough to wait without knowing, much less if I had a 'target' date in my head and then things didn't happen according the the suggested timeline. I asked for a target date towards the end and wished I hadn't- it made it harder to wait!!
I don't know how your ebony top will be when it comes to finish, but I do know that some woods (coco bolo being one) tend to be particularly difficult when it comes time to apply finish.
It sounds as though it's going to be an amazing instrument and I love the neck woods combination you decided on. Should have a ton of fundamental with all that ebony and the mahogany and birch should warm things up a bit. Looking forward to watching this one through the build process.