I'm just getting started with .45 (and pistol) too. I arrived at my powder choice in a back assward fashion. Since I use a lot of Alliant powder on the rifle side, I jumped into Quickload and hunted thru the Alliant pile to find what was best for my 3 1/2" barrel. It wound up being a tossup between Bullseye and Unique. Then I went to the Interwebz and looked for a concensus. Most folks, in the places I landed are using Bullseye for .45. Since I will be using an automated powder drop, I didn't need any funky metering characteristics either. So, I got a bottle of Bullseye, and will start out with that.
When it comes to die setup (I also have the Lee 4 die set), I dropped 20 bucks on one of these. Money well spent...
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/744135/egw-4-hole-chamber-checker-max-cartridge-cage-9mm-luger-38-super-40-s-and-w-45-acp?cm_vc=S014