A) There are no code limits to how many general use receptacles can be on a residential circuit. This is actually contentious, many people will say they must be calculated at 180VA, but the 180VA number is derived from calculations for non-residential feeder demand. I'm on the "It's not code enforceable" side of the fence, but I still size circuits at 180VA per receptacle. Basically, in my opinion, it's a design question, which is ostensibly outside of the scope of the NEC.

B) Let's say you do think it's code enforceable, cool, 180VA gets you max 13 receptacles per circuit. So, 8 is totally fine. If these are general receptacles with unknown loads. If you do know the loads, add those up and calculate 180VA for the rest of the receptacles that are general use. There's a little more that can go into it depending on the space and how it's being used, but generally speaking 8 on a 20 is perfectly fine.

C) NECA is the National Electrical Contractor's Association, the NEC is the National Electrical Code.