I assume you are using the same processing account you are currently using for your live site, but if not you should be able to change the mode to testing with your payment gateway.
Alternatively you could create a custom payment in 3DC. We use this for internal orders that will be billed outside of 3DC via invoice sent to the customer.
As far as the authorize vs. charge; I believe I can set this with our payment gateway (Authorize.net) but there is definitely a check box next the payment setup in the 3DC admin panel to "Authorize Only". I am not sure exactly how it will work, but it may work for you. Also immediately after you do a test charge you could go into your gateway admin (assuming you have one with your provider) and cancel the transaction before your charges settle for the day. I think this would solve your problem without making any changes to your settings.
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