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Hang on for a bit before archiving it, Thally.. I'll answer those questions later tonight.. much later, probably.. Class and work..

I can't locate my books, I already need to be in bed for work tomorrow, and I won't really get a chance to answer these until at least Sunday, maybe later. So, bear with me here.. I'm working off memory

What book explains the 9 levels of hell?

Guide to Hell, published by TSR would be the best. Outside of that, various Planescape box sets - The Blood War, The Planes of Law, and the Planescape book Faces of Evil:The Fiends.

Do Devils or demons ever leave there domain? IE: portals from or to hell?

If there's nothing more important to do, and they find a portal from Hell to the Prime, and it seems relatively stable, you can bet that an army will be marching through. As most portals are completely unpredictable, a devil might step through, and he might not. It all depends on how easily he thinks he can get back before he's missed, and the trouble he'll be in if he is missed.

As for Demons.. well, if they wanna go, they go. If they don't, they don't.

Are there 9 layers of heaven?

Heaven, being Mount Celestial, has 7 layers.

We know that the devils and celestials would make an alliance to rid a demon problem... however, can it be said that Devils and Demons would ally to get rid of a celestial problem?

Read my faq on the Blood War (I think I put it in there).. early on, the Celestial army, one composed of LG, NG, and CG soldiers marched on the lower planes. The forces of evil eventually aligned. After they joined together, and it became Good Vs. Evil... Good lasted about a week.

-Devil: LE. Celestial: LG. Demon:CE. ???: GC??

Celestial is a catch-all term, like Fiend. Fiend refers to the lower plane races ranging from CE to LE, and including NE.. and every shade between. Celestial, of course, refers to the alignment scale between LG and CG.

"What sustains Devils?"

For the most part, Fiends do not need to eat. Lock a fiend in an escape-proof room for 1000 years, and when you open it up, the fiend'll still be there. But they do get hungry. Very, very hungry. As a general rule, Fiends enjoy intelligent life as a meal, though there are a few exceptions. Among fiends, some prefer flesh flavored with pain and agony, while others prefer terror and dispair. Emotions flavor the meat, and can change a dish completely.

Not every layer of the Abyss is open

I'll contest this. If something can get it, it can get out. Planar life, such as the Fiends, existed long before Primes. Heck, even a few learned sages on Ravenloft know of the Blood War. So, barring a completely sealed Abyssal layer, which no creature has ever entered or escaped.. then every Demon knows of the Blood War. But, if there is a layer or two sealed.. well, they don't really count, now do they?

Any insight into what a Devil army that would attempt this might be composed of, and the tactics they'd use?

Well, for starters, I'd really need to know the size of the group, but for now, I'll assume 1000 human/elf/dwarf/gnome/halfling/whatevers.

I'd also need to know the importance of the Artifact. If it's something that is capable of changing the face of the Blood War.. well, they've already lost the fight. Like you said, barring direct Divine Intervention, everyone's dead, and the Devils have the artifact.

Now, I'll work with the assumption that it's not that important in the grand scheme.

Powerful Artifact + Desire to own by the Devils = Pit Fiends and Gelugons in the attacking force, probably about equal numbers, at least twice as many Cornugons and Barbazu as commando units, maybe a few Hamatula for fun, and several Imps as scouts.

1000 Humanoids vs
10 Pit Fiends
10 Gelugons
100 or so Barbazu
100 or so Cornugons
50 or so Hamatula
50 or so Imps

They would, of course, use the Imps in various Polymorphed forms to locate the weakest areas of defense, then assault said areas. The Pit Fiends and Gelugons would only enter direct combat as neccessary, and even then they'd probably just make the others do it. Imps would double as Sneaky assassins, poisoning those in key points.

And each devil would summon as many Lemures as they can, simply to throw them at the Humanoids. Humans use Tower Shields, Devils use Lemures.

And, of course, the Devils will have scouted the area extensively, know all the obvious entrances and exits, probably most of the hidden ones as well. They will predict the tide of the battle pretty accurately, and they will more than likely know where to hit when and with how much force.

See what happens when you apply logic to a Devilish battle? Poor humanoids don't stand a chance.

Not yet... I still need to list the Lords of the Nine

Is there any way to truely kill Asmodeus....

Somehow figure out his plans, which would first involve figuring out who and what he is, then finding and informing his sister.

Outside of that.. and I'm not even sure That would work... I dunno.

Use the Machine of Lum the Mad to make it so Asmodeus was never created in the first place? But then something else would have been.. same problem, different name.

Outside of destroying the universe yourself.. Hmm...

I have no idea.

And if there is, what sort of effect would a death of this enormous scale have on the cosmic balance of Good, Evil, Law, and Chaos?

Well.. Imagine two seesaws, with a board connecting the two, on which a bucket of water is balanced. The water is, of course, existance. Now, on each seesaw's end, there's an equal sized child. On one board Law and Chaos sit facing each other, perfectly balance. On the other, Good and Evil.

(Now, just go with this part)

Now, the side of Law is represented by two children who weigh the same as the Chaos child. Knock one of the Law children off the board.

What happens to the bucket of water?

Important Note
I finally remembered who the Champions of Evil were. The Champions of Law are, of course, Jazarin and Ahriam.

The Champions of Evil - The Barneloths.. who created the Yugoloths.

Just a tidbit I remembered... feel free to discuss this new fact in the Yugoloth FAQ.