Unfortunately, the config file will only be included in the kernel image only if the person compiling it specified it (most do not). You can look at /proc/config.gz
if you're in luck, it will be there.
If you have the kernel source, it's worth having a look at /arch/arm/configs
- most Android kernel's I've seen will have the default config for your CPU and you can start from there.
You can compile external module for the Android kernel just like you compile a normal Linux module. Just make sure you use the kernel tree you downloaded as the kernel headers. It may or may not work depending on how close the kernel you downloaded to the actual running kernel.