Greg,
You got it.
For post numbers, I figure we can just look at the last post number and add 1.
I'm sure some will get out of order due to multiple posts at the same time but it will still get referencing in 'the ball park', plus the last person's number that may be out of order, can just edit it for corrections.
Any additions or improvements to an original post, a Letter can be added:
ie post 1-A
post 1-B
etc.
This way, all like posts can be easily referenced and the relationship.
Obviously, posts only refer to "how to's" and not general statements, like this post.