What is the most cost effecient way of removing paint? The whole car needs to be stripped to bare metal. How much does sandblasting normaly cost? Chemical paint removers are roughly $40 a gallon, but how many would it take to do a whole car? Will chemical strippers eat surface rust or would i still have to sand it? Any info i appreciated.

I don't know the price of sandblasting but plastic blasting is around $600. Three gallons of striper will get most the paint off. Followed with $15 worth of 80 grit DA paper to buzz it to bare steel. Strippers won't touch rust but your DA will. I put cardboard on the floor around the car when I strip them and use a plastic dust pan to pick up the used stripper and put it back on the sides of the car since it gets thicker with use/paint build up.

67 shovel has it right.... go to Home Depot and get 2 gallons of the stripper in the gold can (approx. $12/gallon) and buy some plastic scrapers. It may take 2 applications, but it will go to the metal and follow up with 80 grit.
That is what I did also:

http://users.ev1.net/~jaaustin/chevelle/primer.jpg