I'm not sure which is more expensive.
A true through-body goes all the way to the very butt of the instrument with the neck. It's a single piece and the two sides then get laminated to that.
Many, like the Les Paul, "just" use a mortise and tenon joint.
But, the end goal is to transfer vibrations and about 70% of the vibrating string length is over the neck - which makes transferring those vibrations to the body pretty complicated.
Some say one is better and other people argue. I don't actually expect that to be resolved in my lifetime.
I've got a tin ear at any rate. I couldn't tell you if this sounds good. Any mic I've got access to wouldn't do it justice anyway. I think it sounds better than the fenders I previously had. That's just my tin ear though.
That I don't know. But you've given me something interesting to look into. My guess is whichever is cheaper. The Ghostrider's weren't amazing guitars. I just liked the way the neck felt and got an interesting one.