Hi Joe.
I wrote and passed my PMP yesterday. I don't think I felt quite as nervous as you did but let me tell you - I did start to cry when the Congrats message popped up on the screen.
Based on my experience yesterday, here's what I can tell you:
1. I used the prepcast and the exam simulator as my main study tools. I did use two supplemental study books (Head First PMP and Achieve PMP Success) and I do not feel they substantially contributed to my preparation. The prepcast was my best tool for learning the material and the exam simulator was the best tool for mentally preparing for the exam
2. As per Cornelius' advice, I didn't spend one single minute memorizing ITTOs. In my opinion, that advice was spot on.
3. The PMP exam uses psychometric scoring so based on my understanding, you may face a hard exam with a low bar to jump over to pass or you may face an easy exam with a higher bar for passing. After writing all 9 practice exams in the exam simulator, I believe I had an easier exam. I felt many of my questions were more straight-forward than what I saw in the exam simulator and closer to what was in the self-assessments.
4. In the end, I ended up scoring Proficient in three areas and moderately proficient in two. Closing was one of my moderately proficient areas and in my exam simulator results, I was only scoring 71% on that area. Monitoring & Controlling was a proficient area for me and in my exam simulator results, I was only scoring 79%. But, Initiating was my other moderately proficient area and in my exam simulator results, I was scoring 86%.
5. Your exam score is made up of two parts - and overall pass/fail and then your domain results. They are not related. You do not have to achieve a minimum mark on each area in order to get your overall pass/fail, therefore YES, you can get below proficient in an area and still pass. I wrote my CAPM five years ago and I had a below proficient and still passed. Full disclosure - my CAPM results were by knowledge area, not domain so that was 1 below proficient out of 9 (only 9 knowledge areas back in those days...) But I definitely recall watching one of the prepcast videos were Cornelius explains the examination results and shows an example of a pass with a below proficient.
My advice to you - start taking some full 2 hour exams. I know you've said that the pressure freaks you out which is all the more reason to simulate the exam conditions as much as possible. My exam centre was small, only 8 testing stations so it was relatively quiet, save for the construction going on right outside. Try doing a couple of full exams at the same time as your real exam. I found a difference in my scores based on when I wrote my practice exam - after work scores were lower than early morning weekend scores. I wrote early on a weekday so they were a better reflection of how I'd do.
Good luck with your exam!