The quest line is at Galatia, bars merely point you towards it if you've missed it yourself.
Bar quests don't change depending on which you do more often, it remains random. But if you do a mission, the person who gave it might become a "personal contact", who will keep giving missions of that general type every time you visit. If you want to be a smuggler, look for underground contacts. There are a few dedicated smuggling bar missions they give, and "underworld bounties" are also offered by smugglers, even if it doesn't sound like that. Spy satellite missions are usually military contacts, but there's an underground variant too. Check if the quest giver is a pirate or not.
For keeping low profile, sensors skill is very important. It dramatically reduces the burn penalty for going dark. Having any phase ships in your fleet reduces your overall profile, and the ships themselves add 0. There are even phase troop transports and freighters now, but they are very hard to find. Your best bet is your friendly underworld contact offering you a couple for triple price.