Chuck, you don't need a two-stage pump. Any motor driven pump capable
of achieving 1-5-mm Hg of vacuum should do the trick. You don't need to
pump down to the micron region.

Will a two stage pump work faster or slower ?

Will I need a higher vacuum for things like neon lights? I assume you
remove most of the air and then inject the gas, so the initial pressure
isn't critical??

An important thing to note is that most lightbulbs are not evacuated --
they contain low pressure argon so that the filament material doesn't
evaporate as it would under a high-vacuum.

Thanks I was wondering about using an inert gas.

Of course you will need to use a
filament material that is (1) not readily oxidized and (2) has a very
high melting temperature.

Will Nichrome wire work reasonably well?