Randall,
It's hard to make out in the ebay photo of the red door panel but I'm pretty sure it does have the stitching. It also has a seam where two pieces of leather are used to cover the compound curves of the door panel. The vinyl door panels don't have this seam. I suspect the vinyl is able to be formed to the shape of the door panel in a single piece.
As to your question about the dash, the glove box first appeared on the 03 models and I don't think they can easily be retrofitted to earlier years. IIRC, on the early Boxsters, there is a steel beam that runs behind the dash in that area. This beam has a different shape to accommodate the glove box on the later cars and I don't know if the beam is bolted in place or welded. You may want to search for a parts diagram for the glove box area and compare it to a diagram of an early model. I've seen several people ask about this, but I've never seen anyone actually attempt it. If you do, make sure to do a write up, I'm sure there would be lots of interest.
