Sup ExWill... Welcome to the boards, I MAY be able to shed a little light on the question, I just had the clutch in my Bro's 95 Eclipse GST replaced... Basicly we knew the Clutch was Gone, becuase it would not Drive anywhere
Well that's how bad we let it get to, before getting it replaced... I think usually if your having a lot of trouble shifting gears, and getting some motion out of first gear, it's a good indication of a clutch problem.
I'm not really 100% sure about Q #2 but I beilve it describe the above and means you need a new clutch.
Q#3 riding the clutch will wear it out. (using the clutch as a foot rest while driving) If you use the clutch properly you should be fine. It is a mechanical device so it's not going to last forever, but things like toggling the clutch to do burn outs and driving in harsh will help wear it out quicker.
Q#4 I dunno.. i'm driving my first standard.