I can see your reasons for the higher calorie consumption. I would also suggest leaning more toward simple carbs which are broken down and absorbed faster, also adding some probiotics, such as acidophilus milk or yogurt, to aid in digestion. Basically, I'd point you in the direction of a mediterranean diet. You have an active job, so on one hand you are burning more calories than if you were sitting at a desk; on the other, you probably have a good basis for core strength and fitness. Your resting heart rate is a little high, but that's partially due to smoking (I can't pick on you there; I picked up again myself a few months ago).

It's difficult to slow down your metabolism because that's mostly due to genetics, activity level, and overall fitness-- so the extent to which you could slow it down would require you to be less healthy, which is not what you want. It will slow down as you age, though. Trust me on that. Somewhere between 30 and 35 you're going to notice a big difference.

It sounds like you're more interested in gaining strength with mass being secondary. That's good, because it's easier to build strength. Given your activity level from your job, I'd suggest working out 3 or 4 days a week for 45 minutes to an hour at a time. Much more than that and your body won't have enough time to recuperate between workouts.

To build core strength as well as add mass, you want to focus on big, multi-joint movements: cleans, squats, deadlifts, pullups (or pulldowns). etc. If you have access to a gym, that's great; if not, get yourself a barbell and about 100 pounds of weights in various sizes to start off with. I've always preferred free weights over machines all the way [forget the fads] (the bowflex being the rare exception) because having to keep your balance and focus on form forces you to incorporate surrounding muscle groups.

Notice I said big movements; not big weights. Leave your ego at the door because it will only get you hurt. Build up to the big weights. Start off with a weight you are comfortable with and focus on getting a full movement with good form. If you pile on too much weight, you're only going to sacrifice your range of motion, and half movements will get you half results (if that). There are plenty of resources online and in magazines, books, training videos that I won't go into proper form and range of motion for a wide range of exercises here.

After about 2 or 3 weeks, when you've developed some good form, you'll want to start adding weight. Use a weight you can lift through a full range of motion with good form about 5-8 times. That's your first set. Rest about a minute and do a second set with the same weight. Rest about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes and do a third set with the same weight. Then immediately drop about 20 to 30% of the weight and do a set till you can't life anymore without your form or range of movement suffering; drop more weight and do another set to failure; repeat a third time. This last group of sets are called a 'drop set' and this will really push your muscles into a hypertrophic state. You don't want to rest between the drop sets; beat the crap out of yourself. The first sets are for strength, and the drop sets are for mass. If you have a particular area you want to focus on, biceps for instance, the next phase of your workout would be where you'd want to do isolation movements such as preacher curls.

The major muscle groups you'll want to focus on for lifting and carrying things are arms and shoulders, legs, and back. Your core big movements, then, would be squats (legs and back), deadlift (arms, legs, back, shoulders), bench press (chest and arms), and standing barbell curls (arms, shoulders). So your weekly workout routine will look something like this:
Day 1: Deadlift, 3 sets; squats, 3 sets + a drop set
Rest day
Day 3: Deadlift, 3 sets; bench press, 3 sets + a drop set
Rest day
Day 5: Deadlift, 3 sets; barbell curls, 3 sets + a drop set
Rest day
Rest day

For a boatload of good information and motivation, check out Elliot Hulse's channel on YouTube (Strengthcamp). Don't let the guy's size intimidate you; he has a great philosophy on what strength really is (hint, it's not size).