Removing leaves won't help much. Thin it out (branches) or power through. Doing it this far into flower will definitely reduce yield, though.
Autos? stop using them, they are trash.
Start taking more control over resulting canopy. Have a target number of colas per sq ft and alott it evenly to number of plants. Up to a point more plants equals less vege time, but there's a ceiling on that effect, too.
~3 colas per sq foot is all you need. If the canopy fills the space properly. It wil absorb all the energy it can possibly accept, and the rest is jsut about distribution of buds across canopy. A bunch of 'mouths to feed" (overcrowded colas) just means smaller buds and greater risk of pathogens.. more larf higher up on plant than what is possible etc...
so with 4 sq ft you only need abotu 12 colas in there. i'd go to 16 because it allows for more symmetrical training and ersults in a square shape more easily - shape of tent mataches 4x4 better than 4x3, though if you leave space for equipment along one wall, 4x3 (12) might work well too..
lollipopo anwhere from flip to 12/12 to 7-10 days deep. This mostly depends on the plant's genetics... Heavy stretchers can be trained beyond flip with no loss of yield and mitigate it's vertical height a bit to match other plants. Plants with less stretch need branches to be going vertical at flip. Befoer that you are just getting them into position and keeping it level (spreads apical dominance).