Dilemma, Need help with decision on Celestron VX Mount and Edge HD...

[Doberman]

Hello everyone.

I am new to this forum and after a looooong break back to astronomy.

Here is my question and what I need advice on.

I have a 15+ year old Celestron C8, in perfect condition. It was stored away and when I took it out of it's box to get back into astronomy with my 8 year old son, I realized I was missing a few pieces to attach it to it's old mount so my journey of upgrade began.

After doing a little research, found out the Celestron VX Mount is the best choice for the money. I have ordered it and found out that I had to spend another $80 to get a dovetail adaptor to connect to my mount.Considering I am new to the hobby and want to get into astrophotography (using full frame Nikon DSLR), viewing, mainly for the kids and eventually get into deep sky astrophotography, here is my questions:

Do I get the VX Mount (or are there other brands that I can use with my C8) 

or get the VX Mount with the C8 EdgeHD (I can get a $200 discount on a set, which usually sells for $1999) and sell my old one? (The price difference is about $1000). 

Or do should I be looking at other options (I want to stay under $2K all in if possible).

What other accessories do I need to buy in order to get long exposure shots, ie Autoguider, focusing upgrade etc? 

Or can those be added as I learn more and gain more experience? 

I did a little research and my understanding even with a good mount like VX, I still need an autoguider. Is that inaccurate? 

I am ok with starting with photographing the moon and the planets. Do I need an Autoguider for that? Also would the EdgeHD upgrade make a difference for those objects?

I know too many questions but it is a big investment for me and I want to make sure I make the right decision.

Thanks in Advance...

PS. (Did not know which subforum to post so I posted under telescope as well...)

[Rudeviewer]

So far I love my VX mount I am new to AP but this mount has doubled my exposure times from the get go.  Actually more then double.  I was at 30 with an old alt az mount and now I can sort of go to 2:00 with a lil bloating and trailing.  Unguided at this point, but coulds and snow havn't let me do much except chase orion with a 300mm lens in the clouds for 5 secs at a time.