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1. Do activated collection implements get their resonant powers? I think they do, but my GM says no.
"Once mental focus is invested inside an implement, the implement gains the resonant power of its implement school." That's from the base occultist class and I don't see anything in the Curator archetype that alters or removes that ability. And your collection implements are automatically invested with mental focus when you activate them (unless you have spent it all).
2. Expansive Collection says "As a move action, the curator can empower a single piece of his collection, choosing one of the two selected schools, gaining that school’s focus power, and accessing the selected spells for 10 minutes. The curator can empower only a single relic at a time in this way, and activating this ability a second time ends any other relic’s ongoing benefits."
Does this mean when empowered I can access the focus powers until I activate the ability again, but I have access to the spells for only 10 minutes? Or are the focus powers on the same 10 minute timer?
There is a serious overuse of commas there and could definitely be cleaner, but the thing that makes the most sense is that you can only use the focus power while the relic is empowered. When it is no longer empowered it no longer has focus in it (and therefore does not grant the resonant power, either.)
3. The second half of question 2's quote "The curator can empower only a single relic at a time in this way, and activating this ability a second time ends any other relic’s ongoing benefits." Does this mean focus powers with a duration end, along with resonant powers?
Yes. Both of those would be "ongoing benefits."
4. Are focus powers tied to the implement or the school? If I pick Transmutation at 1st and again at 2nd level, can I use my 1st level focus power with my 2nd level implement?
Focus powers are tied to schools, not specific implements. Unlike spells, you don't even need to present an implement to use most focus powers.
You do need to have two different transmutation implements if you picked transmutation twice.
5. When I select focus powers via Adaptable Powers can I use the focus powers when the Collection is not activated if I have the same school implement. Say I pick Transmutation at 1st level not as part of the Collection and at 6th level I take Transmutation as part of my Collection. Can I use the 3rd level Transmutation focus power with my 1st level Transmutation implement? Or do I have to activate my Collection?
OK: if I'm parsing this right, there's a misunderstanding at the core of your question. When you gain your adaptable powers at 3rd level, they must come from the schools associated with your extensive collection. If you didn't pick transmutation as one of your extensive collection schools, you can't pick a transmutation focus power at 3rd level.
The overall answer is that any focus powers gained via the Adaptable Powers ability are only usable while your collection is empowered.
Whenever he activates his collection, he can use those focus powers associated with his selected school of magic while the relic remains empowered.
6. Piggybacking off the question 5, if I were to pick Transmutation as one of my Adaptable Powers Focus Powers for my 1st level Transmutation Collection implement and picked Transmutation again as one of my 6th level Collection implements could my 6th level Collection implement use the 3rd level focus power?
Yes. The ability I quoted in answer 5 says "he can use those focus powers associated with his selected school of magic." Powers, plural. Associated with the school, not the implement.
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3. The second half of question 2's quote "The curator can empower only a single relic at a time in this way, and activating this ability a second time ends any other relic’s ongoing benefits." Does this mean focus powers with a duration end, along with resonant powers?Yes. Both of those would be "ongoing benefits."This seems like a oversight when so many Focus Powers have durations longer than 10 minutes at higher level. Soulbound Puppet lasts 10-200 minutes. It makes that Focus Power useless if in the Collection. Are you certain the "benefits" are active effects and not just the benefit of access to spells, Focus Powers and Resonant Powers?
Thank you for answering so many questions!!!
It's certainly fine for you and your GM to decide to play it differently, but I'm pretty sure that's the way it works. Overall, the Curator trades duration for versatility. More schools and more powers but with that cap of 10 minutes per use.
Another way to look at it: those powers are all magic of some type (Sp or Su). What would happen if you walked into an antimagic field? The Soulbound Puppet would wink out of existence. Instantaneous effects like using Psychic Curse to remove a creature's memory would not be effected but anything with an ongoing duration would cease. So a similar thing would happen when the relic collection is no longer magically powered. Anything with an ongoing duration ends.
One nice thing about the Curator - unlike many archetypes - is that they don't give up all the base class abilities. So you can always choose powers with a duration of longer than 10 minutes per level with regular focus powers and use Adaptable Powers for others.