Shift shaft seal and transmission cover gasket questions

I am finally getting around to looking in the transmission of my 1987 328 to check things out and maybe replace the shift shaft seals (I am the 3rd owner, got the car in October 2021). The gear oil was about 1/2 quart high and somewhat dark, so clearly some engine oil is getting into the transmission. But based on records from the 2nd owner, the last gear oil replacement was 9.5 years and 3500 miles ago, so this isn't exactly a fast leak in my mind. Be curious to know what other folks think.

The shift shaft seals were last replaced in 2002 according to service records from the original owner, and the notes from that work indicate there was a much more substantial leak at the time -- enough that excess was being blown out the transmission breather.

I guess I am curious what constitutes a concern -- are the seals 100% perfect when working properly or is a little seepage normal even when they are new? Does 1/2 quart in 9.5 years raise an alarm? Going forward I will probably change gear oil more often since I drive the car a lot more than the previous owner.

The transmission cover gasket did not have any sealant on it, and I haven't noticed any leaks since I have owned the car. I was surprised, considering the gasket was installed 22 years ago and I always hear people talk about leaks through the studs and nuts. What is the current recommendation -- should I use sealant when I install the new gasket and put the cover back on?

I looked at all the synchros from below and they look great. Didn't formally measure the gap between synchros and gears, but it's substantial enough to eyeball and suggests the synchros have a lot of life left in them. Given the notorious behavior of 2nd gear on these cars, I was expecting to see some wear on the 2nd gear synchro and dog teeth of that gear, but it all looks beautiful. I do have a stiff 2nd gear shift about 50% of the time, and plan to have my daughter shift in/out of 2nd a few times while I study everything from below in case an adjustment is needed.

Finally, I noticed something interesting on the 22 year old cover gasket. Pic below showing the area around the detents. It looks like over time, gear oil trapped inside the bores of the R-1 and 2-3 detents pushes out the bottom when the balls move down, and it bulges/tears the gasket in that area. The 4-5 detent has an additional spacer that seals off the bottom of its bore, and the gasket looks fine in that area. Looks like another example of optimistic gasket design by Ferrari...

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