Ok..the answer for your first question...
Yes..the life will be normal. Practically when the 4watt CFL is used with 4 watt ballast, a certain amount of heat is generated. And in practical, lesser the heat more the life in electronics. Thus when you use a ballast with more capacity to a small bulb, the ballast will live longer as less heat or No heat is generated. Whereas bulb life will always vary depending on the frequency, volatge fluctualtions, switching on/off cycles, etc etc.
Answer to the 2nd question:
As i have seen and experienced, the old system of wire wound choke with starter will work better than electronic ballasts and too CFL's will have better life in this setup. But the built in starter will always have a life lesser than the bulb which will create a problem in this traditional method.
Cheers