My first kiln was extremely small. I can't determine the scale (size) of your proposed kiln from the photo. It there is sufficient vertical space above the Crockpot, then hanging the leaf is far less work than stacking and rotating. Bagging also requires bringing the leaf into case, in order to get it into a bag. Some members have placed pre-moistened leaf into sealed bags or sealed totes, and kilned them that way.
During color-curing, the stems are always the last part of the leaf to dry. I usually just wait for the stems to dry in the shed. If you discover that the stems are beginning to mold, then I would dry them in the sun, or stacked on a seedling heat mat. For stalk-harvested plants, I just hang them in the shed, and wait until winter to begin stripping them from the stalks.
Burley varieties are usually stalk-harvested. For bright leaf, you have to prime individual leaves if you are actually flue-curing it. Otherwise, depending on the variety, if the upper leaves are maturing nearly as fast as the lower leaves, then you can stalk-harvest it. If the lower leaves are beginning to deteriorate on the stalk, before the upper leaves are approaching maturity, then you have to prime individual leaves to avoid losing the lower leaf.
Bob