WI uncle Joe named the capital for himself. Would it be a still higher priority for the Nazis. Might there have been a longer attempt to take it in 1942
No I don't think so. By 1942, Hitler was totally convinced that capturing the oil fields of the Caucasus was the way to go as it promised to reduce Soviet war production potential and would set Germany up to face the growing Anglo-American threat in the West.
WI uncle Joe named the capital for himself. Would it be a still higher priority for the Nazis. Might there have been a longer attempt to take it in 1942
No. The Germans went into the Caucasus for the damn good reason that if they were going to defeat the Soviets, they both needed a lot more oil than they had and to deny the USSR their own oil. Blue was the proper strategic option.
Not really, since it vastly overestimated German logistic capabilities. A Moscow option made the most sense since infrastructure already existed to be built on over time.