re: Considering swimming laps to get in better shape..input needed

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Always thought the bouy was the opposite of a kick board, allowing you to work on stroke

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They're not opposite, but they are totally different. A pull buoy puts your hips and body in the proper position so you can concentrate on your catch, rotation and glide. As your pace increases and you fatigue those are the three things you lose thus resulting in greater fatige and slower times.

A kickboard does allow you to get into kick sets, but I agree with the newer approach to avoid a kickboard for almost all kick-sets (not all, but almost all). A kickboard (unlike a pull buoy) puts the body in a terrible position. It raises your head and shoulders and sinks the hips. If you do use a kickboard, putting your palms on the top end is probably the worst way to use it because it raises the head even more. The best way to hold one would be from the bottom, with arms fully extended and head in the water.

If you plan to do say 5x150 kick sets, a good option would be 50 with a kick board (25 hard 25 easy), 50 on the side (25 left side and 25 right side), then 50 on the back (25 hard and 25 easy). This way you are working out more than just the quads and fully engaging all the muscles in the legs that can be used for kicking.

A workout I love is 5 x 150 kick, 50 ez swim, 100 endurance pace swim with a rest interval of 1:00.