A made man can sponsor someone to be made. But it's the Don's decision, and he does the "making," because he needs to assure that the new made man is loyal to him, not just to the guy who sponsored him.
2. When a boss gives the order for a hit, who tells the hit man about it?[/QUOTE]
If the boss has any sense, it'll be someone as far removed from the hitman as possible, so that the boss can't be implicated if the hitman turns rat.

3. Does the top mafia boss ever have direct communication with the hit man, or does he just go through under bosses?[/QUOTE]
Not usually, for the reasons cited above. The boss may do it if he wants to conceal the hit from others in his family (for example, if he's suspicious of others).
Owen, you should be aware that many Mobs use freelance killers or killers lent from other families, precisely to protect their own ranks in case something goes wrong and the killer is caught or turns rat.

4. If you were to insult a boss, do they have the right to kill you?[/QUOTE]
The boss can order anyone killed for any reason that he justifies (usually to himself). Supposedly there's a Mafia rule that a made guy can't even lay a finger on another made guy without a sitdown. That doesn't apply to the boss--he's the one who presides over the sitdown.
5. When you are made do you get total protection from the authorities?[/QUOTE]
Certainly not. In fact, given modern surveillance and the ease with which the authorities get made guys to rat out each other, being made is almost a sure-fire invitation to be jailed.

6. Do you need to be 100% Italian to be made?[/QUOTE]

Technically, yes, in a Mafia family. As a practical matter, bosses use associates of any ethnicity as long as they produce (attest Jimmy Conway being the equivalent of a crew chief in Paulie's family in "Goodfellas," even though Jimmy was 100% Irish). Some Mafia families don't have a formal "making" ceremony. Other ethnic mobs have their own rules.

7. If you didn’t do a hit, and tried to run from the mafia, would they track you down, or just wait until they saw you again before they would kill you? [/QUOTE]
Depends on how dangerous you'd be to the boss. If you were, and had info that could endanger the family, they'd spend money and effort to track you down. But if you were some guy sent on a first-time mission to whack an unimportant guy, I don't think they'd make much of an effort--or spend a lot of money--to find you.