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Getting it done, John?
I always rather use 1/2" Hadibacker for tiling walls. Screw it right onto the studs with their screws or any self drilling coated screws. I like it because its so much stronger then typical drywall and water proof too (personally, I think its very, very water resistance so I always use waterproofing behind for added insurance). Is your situation, I would just tile over the existing drywall. Prime the wall so the tiles sticks better. Mastic will do, one section at a time, about 2'x2'. Don't build it up anymore with drywall, its too thick. Tile will stick on there just fine.
Personally, I dislike large grout joints (too much to clean), so I always try to butt up one tile next to the other leaving just under 1/16" gap. White grout will be a btich to keep clean especially behind the cook top. No amount of sealing is going to help. Prisum grout is great, and it doesn't stain as easily. Epoxy is even better, but its a btich to apply. Great for commercial use but you think about it, before these fancy grout were on the market, we used regular grout since the 20s and they held up jsut fine in commercial kitchens. They were just kept clean by the cleaning crew.
Rent a tile saw from HOme Depot, done. If you get hold of a snapping tile cutter, use that. Its fast and pretty accurate. Tile around the shelf or the other way around is not really a big deal. But for looks, I would install the shelf onto the finish tile only because you don;t want to see the tile edge sitting proud of the stainless shelf. Install the pot filler, you will use it. Beats having to carry a pot of water all the way from the sink.
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