Trying to prevent shin-splints/leg pain during summer--HELP!

Okay, so consider this a unique post. My name is Drew and I am a parking attendant during the summer months. I work six nights/week, but mon-thurs are by far the hardest, where I am running on pavement, hills, gravel, and up/down slate steps (East Hampton Point is a real obstacle course). I'd say those first four nights of my work week I run at least 2-3 miles per night. Last summer, I was using a crappy pair of new balance kicks, and when I started to get shin splints, I threw in some $20 dr. sholls inserts which did absolutely nothing. During the summer I'm usually about 160-170lbs, I'm 23 and I often run off my heals. I lift weights and have been trying to up my cardio before the summer begins. So that's the background, my questions are as follows: Is being a heal-runner verses a forefoot runner going to increase the shin-splints I experience? If so, can changing my form help this? What is the absolute best pair of running sneakers I can buy???--cost is not a factor Thank you all so much for your time, I'm hoping some good advice can really help me out and make my job a little less physically grueling this summer. -dp