1) do only open credit card accounts count towards the 3 to 5 card bump for FICO scoring? Do charge cards count into this equation? What kind of score increase can be expected?
Closed credit cards only terminate the ability of the consumer to make new purchases. They are not removed from FICO scoring, and still are included in the AAoA calculation.
2) can lates on student loan payments be good willed?
Some federal student loans are required under the Higher Education Act to report all derogs, while others are not.
Is the loan federal? If so, what type of federal student loan is it? Stafford, Perkins, FFEL, other?
3) do student loans count as installment loans for scoring purposes?
Yes.
4) has anyone had any luck removing a TD Bank/Target card CO that isn't showing as a CA?
A charge-off does not discharge the debt, and the full debt remains due.
You might have a shot if you ultimately have paid the debt, but likely little or no good-will if the debt remains unpaid.
Additionally, if the creditor has sold the debt, they will not receive any subsequent payment, so paying a new owner is not likely to have any good-will effect for deletion by the origninal creditor. Is the debt paid, unpaid, and who now owns it?
