Easy so far but the biggest problem I have right now is removing the old gasket that is stuck to the head and cylinder. Certainly don't want to scrap this aluminum so what works best to clean the old stuck gasket remnant's off?

Use a sharp putty knife to scrape the big chunks off.  The gasket residue/adhesive is easily removed using a new flat whetstone with WD40 or some other thin lubricant.  The flat whetstone planes off the gasket remnants without removing or scaring the aluminum.