Mesh and Texture Asset

Make sure production warnings are turned on
Potentially delete the type.dat from the root Ian's Folder for the type you are exporting (ships, docks, etc) depending on if you need to rebuild all assets to remove textures from sharing across modules or removing models altogether. If the file doesn't exist, all assets of that type must be run through the "Match Textures" routine.
3 or 4 sided polys only
limited poly count
no intersecting geometry
where geometry meets the coordinates should be identical
Production warnings (canvas size mismatches)
Shading assessment (gouraud vs. lambertian)

Vehicles

Cockpit/cab windshield is "outside cockpit" type so that it it operates with dome light
Check gross extents (i.e. a license plate that flies away when extended or retracted)
Bounding sphere analysis
Headlights and/or landing lights
Texture utilization (i.e. duplicate names, unnecessary "ambient" light maps)
Trim colored base maps must be exported as DXT3 even through VP loads as DXT1 to retain alpha layer data

Lifting bodies "left wing" "right wing" "tail"
Engines "left" "right" "center"
Flight controls and their proper deflections
Landing gear
Point lights (navigation red left, green right, white tail, anti-collision strobes)
Nose art
Bay doors

Docking interfaces must be the first module in the ASM file (that is how VP knows which port is where!)