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Don't over-repair. Search for survivors first, then weapons. Survivors help you shoot, and help you repair. Once you've got about 5 survivors, focus on weapons searching (say 70/30 or 50/50 weapons to survivors, depending on the chance you have to find a weapon that round). The sooner you get to the Barret, the better.
The second time I made it through all twenty days. Once you get six survivors and automatic weapons, it's pretty much trivial to win (though fun). A refreshing change from the usual Resident Evil 4 strategy (in RE4 the shotgun and rifle are the best weapons, and automatics are worthless--here it's the reverse).