I thought the manual shows dabs of rtv in the four spots, two at the front and two at the rear to cover the seams between the front cover and block and rear main. Then the rest of it is installed dry. I did it like this and so far leak free. Knocking on wood now.

 

You are correct. A good quality gasket is important but the torque spec and sequence is critical. If you want to to be extra sure spread an even and very thin layer of RTV over the mating surface of the gasket. Needs to be very thin as blobs will distort the gasket. One of my D2s had more RTV than gasket and was leaking like crazy.

Also note that some times it not the oil pan, it can be coming from the valve covers above, front main seal, crucifix seals or rear cam cover behind the flywheel. Best to clean up everything and wait a week to trace the source.

 

Here's another perspective. My mechanic told me oil pan gaskets are old technology. He uses a good quality sealer like Toyota FIPG or The Right Stuff without a gasket. That's what new cars use. A gasket is useful if planning to remove the pan again soon and you don't want to spend time re-cleaning the surfaces.