Nice!
What fluids did you use? I found that Cold mornings, even though 1st to 2nd was still a bit Stiff, it was definately smoother and less crunchy.
On the tight plug thing, I got the Exhaust place to Crack my GB filler plug while up on their hoist. It was still a major pita to undo but with a jack under a breaker bar it finally Cracked.