Sorry to necro, but this is a great thread, and could still be expanded.
Something else I see a lot is putting a pouch on your primary side of your vest, above your pistol. If you run a pistol on your side, you should have a clear path to it, without pouches in the way. Same goes for if you're running a vest mounted holster.
The Magpul Dyanamics DVDs are great for explaining a lot of this stuff in detail, and here's a clip on the gear that I found helpful:
MAGPUL DYNAMICS - Load Carrier and Body Armor [loudout] - YouTube