IIRC, Connally wanted to invade Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province to get control of the oil fields after the embargo. Not to mention he went on a corruption trial in 1975. He could win in '76 if he takes advantage of the Axe Murder Incident to make Korean War Phase II TTL's version of the Gulf War...
- Ideally, Humphrey wins in '68. Nixon and Connally were horrible at economic policy. But Humphrey '68 is one of the least done PODs even though it was one of the most likely to happen.
- No Watergate, so Vietnam is a win.
- Nixon wasn't very tough on the Big Three car companies, put tougher fuel and performance regulations so they keep turning out good cars
- Move to nuclear power like France did instead of sticking to oil
- Renew infrastructure, make HSR
- Universal healthcare! Whether Nixon or a Democrat does it doesn't really matter
- No NAFTA or the like. The '70s were when unions gained lots of power, but Carter and Reagan were against them. If you can get Taft-Hartley gone and update the union laws from the '40s, then the US is probably like Germany today: Strong unions, strong manufacturing, strong blue-collar economy.
- Get a Dem in '76 who is as liberal as the Congress, or have a Republican win in '76, so no Reagan '80. Avoid Reagan at all costs.
I think your bullet points are entirely right. Actually, any one of these by itself would probably help a great deal.
One thing that's much harder to put a finger on is how to prevent the changes in the societal mindset that, essentially, led most Americans to conclude that the steps that led to the present plutocratic order were justifiable. Deregulation and low taxes are things people voted for, after all, and even now that those policies have had catastrophic effects they remain popular as abstract ideas. So what POD(s) would prevent the American populace from making the mistakes it has made since ~1970?