sealing out old smells

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I commend you for being willing to crawl around in inhospitable places. I think you can effectively eliminate the penetration of odor from the crawl space to the house by insulating. Ideally you could use plastic sheeting to enhance the seal by pushing the plastic sheeting against the joists and floor, then adding insulation and securing in place. This will place an impervious plastic barrier against the floor, and provide a well insulated floor. Now when you add ventilation to the crawl space, you won't compromise the efficiency of the building envelope. Obviously you need to start from one side and work toward the other overlapping any seams in the plastic.

Ventilation in crawl spaces and attics is important. I have heard of folks in humid climates having problems with moisture accumulation on cool surfaces (ground, pipes), but overall, ventilation should help reduce moisture and stale air. Air vents can be cut into the blocking between joists in the crawl space and covered with vent screens. Great use for a Sawzall. Attics can be ventilated through a combination of soffit vents, ridge vents, roof-top vents and turbines and gable vents. The objective is to establish a convective movement from the soffits to the roof vents that sweeps the underside of the roof deck free of moisture. Again, you may not have adequate insulation or vapor barrier in the attic. This is the time to add it if you have access.

By insulating, you ensure that concensation will not occur against the occupied side of the building envelope. This will go a long way to eliminating the sources of odor, and improvements should pay back by reducing heating and cooling costs.

On the interior of cabinets, have you considered using an airless sprayer to apply a good quality primer? That should seal the odors and give you clean surfaces. The spray will reach places you can't get with a brush. We are talking about a good quality airless sprayer, not a buzz gun.