Well after doing a lot of searching, wiki reviewing, faq checking, etc all my problems have been resolved.
When I had the carbs apart again for a more thorough cleaning, one of the float heights was WAY off. That would explain why I was leaking fuel all over the place once the bike was started. Once I fixed the float height, no more fuel leaking! :)
Then with some more reading on how to tune the carbs, I found that there were no brass caps covering the mixture screws like the service manual says there should be. That told me a previous owner had jetted it and/or messed with the carbs. So, using the guide on jetting and tuning, I was able to adjust the mixture screws so that my floating idle and lean condition completely disappeared. The power curve is much better, the bike runs smoother, and it seems to be running cooler as well.
Although I want to thank all of you for your help in getting my bike running the way it should, I have to give a special thanks to ohgood and buddha for taking time to help a newb to the board sort out his problems. I truly appreciate the help everyone gave me, and hopefully as I get more experience with the bike, I'll be able to return the favor by helping other new people to the board.
cheers.
cool man, enjoy the ride :)