> 
> Has anyone ever heard of a reason to remove the sway
> bar? Better off road maybe?

Well, the sway bar links the left to the right to minimize leaning in turns. 
Some guys remove them to make all four wheels independent to improve contact 
over rough ground. Dunno if it makes that much of a difference.

Question #1: Will the Sway Bar Assembly from a standard Vanagon fit a
> Syncro other that the spacer at the top connecting the bar to the body?

Part number is the same for both syncro and non-syncro, so yeah, I reckon 
any 251 411 025 sway bar from an 86+ will do. The links are different, 
though.