I know what you mean with the hiccups and chewing. If you drop however to the 2mg gum, you can probably chew away without the hiccups. 4mg does brought the hiccups on with me as well.
The only issue with the gum is you become addicted to it!! Saying that it no doubt it is better for you and you save some money as well.
Try to get off the patches asap once you are over the hump, but don't be afraid to call quit line when you are running low on other stuff and get more gum and lozenges. They will reenrol you each time