Hi Tony, thanks for the great questions!

1) Indeed, every transcription I've seen for this song puts it in F minor. However, I strongly suspect that the original recording was sped up, resulting in a slightly higher pitch - so for me, it seems more likely it was recorded in E minor. This was even confirmed by checking out some live clips on youtube -- Keith Richards plays it using D minor open shapes with a capo on the 2nd fret.
It was also easier to mimic the sitar part in E minor in regular tuning without a capo, so we made the decision to teach it in E minor.

2) Here's what I suggest:
Find the bpm setting on your metronome where you can comfortably play through the chord progression using those strums 5 times through without making a mistake. Once you find that, bump up the bpm 5 clicks and see if you can do the same. If you can, keep bumping the bpm up 5 clicks until you find the bpm where it becomes difficult and you start making mistakes. THEN, roll back to the previous bpm and practice longer at that tempo.
With repetition, your muscles will start to acclimate to the technique of the strums, and you should find it more and more natural to play the part.
Repeat this process in each practice session, and eventually you should see some progress.

Hope this is helpful, let me know how it goes!
Mike