well, luckily the clutch cover i got came with the gasket still attached, and it was in pretty decent condition. i put some blue locktite on the bolt threads and torqued it down. i let it settle over night and then filled the bike with oil the next day. i had a lot of trouble starting the bike, but that must be because it was sitting for about a month. i think i flooded it and then i ran down the battery. i cleaned the plugs, charged the battery, and kept trying. after a while it started right up.
it ran like new from Saturday until yesterday when (hopefully) my battery decided to go. the bike kept shutting off during my ride, and there wasn't enough juice to use the electric starter. by the time i got home the battery was so gone that i couldn't even kick start it. i'm hoping it's just the battery as that will be the easiest/cheapest fix.
again, thanks for the help everyone!
Brent