I live in Norwalk, CA and since most of the info that I had read or watched suggested that it's best to start marketing in your own area (to help get familiar with your own market) I've been marketing in Artesia, CA which is less than a mile away.

I would suggest option 1 with a very important twist.

Any suggestions on particular material I should review?

Maybe I could make some suggestions;-)

I ran the numbers with my suggested vacancy/management/capex percentages and came up with cash flow closer to $1k.

You could also let each new property pay back the money you borrowed against this one to eventually pay the HELOC back down.If you are looking to really go for it and get into commercial/ apartments I would sell this and go for the 1031 as suggested by @Caleb Heimsoth.

Suggestions please?

This is a very good place to find a mentor, however I would suggest that you go to your local REIAs and network, network & network, if you're not already.

It has been suggested to me that good leads are obtained using Flip Comp and I'm not sure my dollars are being spent in the best place to generate leads. 

I'd suggest downloading the BP real estate podcast on your iPhone or android.