i'm planning on buying a Stage I kit (intake, catback, pulley kit) for a stock '93.

Does boost creep mainly occur after one or more major mods after those first three, or can it be triggered by some minor mods also, like adding hard pipes to replace rubber hoses?

Also, does anyone recommend a POV?

 

Boost creep usually comes from opening up the exhaust too much (i.e. using a midpipe). If you have a main cat (even a hi-flo), that's enough restriction to avoid boost creep.

However, you may experience "boost spikes" with those mods. You can control that using the "home depot" boost controller mod.