RE: How hard is it to find a good GSP pup
Try navhda.org. This is the web-site for the North American Versitile Hunting Dog Association. You can probably find a German Shorthair which will do what you want. I would avoid the dogs bred for horseback trials because the blood trailing will be difficult to teach. If you google search JGV-USA you can find a dog which has parents tested in all types of hunting.
Dr Fatguy