Ok, resurrecting this old thread yet again just to update.
I did my first oil change on the fish and all went well, and I was feeling industrious....
........so I took the leaking valve cover off to investigate the annoying seepage again.
Turns out that there are two hairline cracks, each about a half inch long.....if I held it up to a light, one I could see some light thru, the other not....so I degreased and cleaned , then roughed it up and then used a product called "Q Bond". its this powder you put on the area needing repair and then add drops of what is basically super glue. This stuff dries rock hard and very strong from what I can see.....we'll see how it holds up...the best part is that it was dry and ready to reinstall in 10 minutes. I reassembled but am going to let it sit til tomorrow evening before firing her up.
We'll see I guess.