I had a 245 for a long time...
If we look at the db entry for the North simulcast site...
New Jersey State Police Trunking System, Statewide, Multi-State - Scanner Frequencies
You would see that all the freqs have a '5' in the 4th decimal - the 245 can handle these without issue.
Yes E2-800 is the right choice. There is no LCN type order to a Moto system per se - HOWEVER, the older scanners often benefited from having the red / blue channels (control channels) programmed first; this enabled them to acquire the system somewhat quicker.
Keep in mind that the 245 can't handle anything talkgroup that is digital (D in the mode column) or encrypted (E in the mode column - no scanner can handle the encryption).
As for the signal strength - well, it's all about the antenna and how far away you are from the transmit sites, among many other factors. If you're more than a couple of miles away, on a little duckie, it's going to be quite noisy. A better antenna - in the clear of obstructions - will increase your chances of success
buckbull where are you in NJ? You may be better off using one of the IntelliRepeater (IR) sites if you are physically closer to one of them...
Mike