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Does anyone have any tips/pics on how to lock down a start bridge and do away with the trem function?

Take the cover off of the trem cavity, notice the area between the trem block and the rear side of the cavity (depress the trem to see the action) make a piece of wood that will fit in there and prevent that pivoting action. Make sure you have 5 springs on the claw and you have just quot;blockedquot; your trem.

There are several schools of thought. A lot of guys around here just put five springs on and tighten up the claw so the bridge won't move. I find that way too twangy, so I cut out a block of wood from the buttstock of a Winchester '97 and wedged it between the sustain block and the back of the trem cavity. I find I get much better tone by doing it that way. Just be sure to make your block so it's tight, but not too tight as you can bend or break the trem's mounting screws, especially if they are the 2-point variety.

Yes. Use 3 springs minimum. Tighten the trem claw down until the back of the bridge touches the guitar body. Do some double stop bends. If the back of the bridge raises off the body, tighten some more. Do this until you can do double stop bends without the bridge rising. You will still be able to downtrem a little, but will essentially have a hardtail. In my experience this does not result in excessive twang, because you aren't using 5 springs.

Something else that helps tremendously is a Callaham block replacement. Much better tone from a heavier rolled steel block, as opposed to the cheap cast zinc blocks being used on most strats.