A couple of quick points: no, gold leaf isn't heated to stick to anything. To use gold leaf, you basically spray glue onto a masked off area, then smoosh the leaf onto it. After a bit of burnishing and brushing, it sticks to that area pretty precisely.
Also I forgot to mention that I need a 1 1/8" fork. That limits my options a bit.
Big thanks to Mondoman for his help. The argument for an 8 speed system is pretty strong I think, and that crank looks fantastic for the money. My only worry is your recommendation of 113 or 118 spindle...that seems like a pretty big difference. Replaceable chain-rings is a big plus, though, and most cheaper cranks do not offer that.