Deciding on Tiny Core as BASE for Preboot Authentication

[jr007]

Hi

I hope someone's out there that have Preboot Authentication (PBA) software dev experience.  I am trying to find which linux distribution to base the PBA on. Since there are too many distros, it gettin difficult to decide. 
The emphasis is on
1. stable os with minimal GUI (not text based, but some dialogs)
2. hardware/peripheral support (USB, Firewire, Ethernet etc). During PBA stage access to these devices is need to get security material and connect to internet to get policies etc.

Do I start with a small size Distro like TinyCore and go to other distros for missing drivers? or Do I start with big ones like Gnetoo, Mandrin and start stripping the code?

Any help is really appreciated!!!

Thank you
jacob