Thank you very much! Thankfully, the North American version of the game is a bit easier than the original Japanese release, so it takes a bit less to make it work. I actually made things harder for myself by not taking the easiest route through Stage 8, but I had learned that route, so I got it done. Honestly, that's the hardest part of the game.
Thank you! I wasn't expecting to no-miss, but when I got to the end and beat the boss, I was thinking to myself, "Did I just no-miss?" When I saw the end screen calculating the points and the 2 million no-miss bonus, I just about hit the floor because I realized I hadn't just dreamed that up :D