honda shadow aero

I just bought a 2005 Honda Shadow Aero with about 7k miles on it. The only issue I have is that occasionally at low RPM it will cough and die if I don't quickly gas it or hit the clutch. The idle speed seems incredibly low. Sometimes I have to gas it when idling to keep it running. To be clear...

I have a persistent and very small oil leak/drip. It all started sometime back when I had a noise in the left side (alternator) cover. I pulled the cover off and replaced the gasket and then the leak started. Because there is so much stuff attached to the side cover, running around the side...