Sounds like you have a plan. I should work on memorizing the notes on the fretboard myself. Like many (most ?) guitarists, I know mostly shapes and positions. Thanks to barre chords, I know the e, a, and d strings. I guess 50% isn't bad :-).

To help your memorization, you might want to look at some patterns on the neck and understand the intervals. Of course the B string causes exceptions. For instance think of power chords: the same note an octave up is 2 strings over and 2 frets up. The 5th of a note is the next string over and 2 frets up.

A way to encourage yourself to stop looking at the guitar when you are playing is to play standing up. When you are standing up, you can't see as much of the guitar and you can't turn it towards you to see it better. So even if you do look at it, it's not going to help much :-).

I can't say I ever made a concious decision to not look at the guitar while I play, so I don't think it will hurt you if you continue to do so. I'll still look down when doing incticate parts or learning something new. I'll glance down when switching positions to get my new reference point.

Good luck!!