Hi, Anna, I've got a resource for you that will help you out and a bit of a strategy for your first question.
About a week ago, a Mac web site offered up a summary related to iTunes Match, and some of the content will be of interest to you:
http://www.imore.com/how-use-itunes-match-ultimate-guide
What I do for my interpretation of inclusion/exclusion of what gets on my Match list is I set up a few iTunes Libraries, and sync only when the Library I want (on all of my devices) is the current Library - I also have an old iPod Classic that contains all of my music. I have a Library for all of the music I want to sync and listen to, but keep my "holiday" and "classical" music in a separate Library and never sync this music to my iTunes Match.
FWIW, I do have a few UL data plans on VZW devices, but don't often listen to Christmas or classical music on the road, so I opt to keep those libraries separate.
A friend of mine duplicated his entire iTunes library, then deleted the music he didn't want synched to iTunes Match from one library then synches that library - then synches his iPod to the complete library. He's got more storage space than I do on my 1TB SSD (maybe a bit less brains too?).
One more option, but not for those short of storage space? Set up multiple user accounts on your Mac, with the iTS assigned to the same iTunes account. Duplicate your library for each of the user profiles/accounts, and edit as you see fit. Keep one user account with everything, which you'd sync with your iPod but keep iTunes Match "off", and another account with the music you want to sync and turn iTunes Match "on".
Sorry, I can't help you with your other questions regarding Tunespan.
Another option to consider is Amazon Prime, which I also subscribe to. Fewer restrictions, additional perks. They've got 1M+ songs, playlists, and you can upload your own music. Just a thought...
