2. the sink drain for some reason was placed to exit on the side instead of going towards the back. I've never seen it like this.. This is your traditional cookie cutter newer home so I'm wondering if they did this for the sake of time? Can I move this to go towards the back and to the side=as in inside the wall somehow if possible?

First, the shower drain. I am going to assume you need to do a little relocating, but you will see almost like your sink trap, there will be some swing in the tub trap. So if you are looking to make up only an 1 1/2" or so, it can probably be done by just swinging the trap. I have a feeling you are going to have to do a little re-piping though. Was the shower drain in the center of the shower? Do you have any pics of that drain from above the floor?

Second, its hard to tell about the sink without seeing the framing in the wall. I want to say you will be able to drill around that corner and run 1 1/2" pvc piping. That corner will have two studs perpendicular to each other. There should be some void space behind them which you may or may not be able to see. Drilling a 2 9/16" hole in both studs should allow you to slip an 1 1/2" 90 into that cavity. Does that make any sense?

Good Luck.