Vince,
Yes, but I don't want to use L2 interface between switches, I would have done it at the first place...
To your questions:
I have done some additional testing, here are the results:
1. Ping from switch_2:
ping 10.0.0.1 source 10.196.1/2/3.1 replies
ping 10.0.0.x source 10.196.1/2/3.1...