Resago
The reason I put the rad after the pump was because that was the best place to put the rad and also the difference in temp should only be MAYBE a degree IMHO but I could be wrong. Also forcing water to the top of my case, back down to the waterblocks and then back up to my res. would probably cut my GPH quite a bit because the water would have to rise twice in that setup instead of only once (I know that sounds stupid but the principle is there)
About ducting fresh air....
I have the front 5 1/4" bays open and I can feel the cool air being sucked into the case from the front (cools my HDDs at the same time as well
I also tried it with the cover off and the temps went down 1 degree and noise difference was not noticeable; so the cover stayed off.
Thanks for the idea though..... maybe for my next project.