OK, the black crud indicates that your plug is oil-soaked. I think this can be remedied by moving the e-clip on the needle inside the carb 1 notch at a time towards the end (flat end, closest to the notches) to make your mixture a little leaner. When you get it set right, after a couple of miles of riding, the plug should turn to a chocolate brown color, and not look like crud. (I would start with a fresh plug to do this scientifically.)
When I ride, I have a nice, fairly slow but steady idle. When I come to a stop, I hold in the clutch, and it continues to run - just like a scooter or motorcycle.
You were not really hurting anything by having the motor shut off at every stop....mayyyyyybe it would cause unnecessary stretching of the connecting rod, but I doubt it, and mayyyyyybe causing a little extra wear on the clutch pads.
Be carefull when fooling around changing the e-clip...some people fondly call them "Jesus-clips" because you call him when the clip flies off into the twilight zone. When you put it on or take it off, do it with the open part of the clip UP, and do it over a towel...if it flies, it's going in the direction away from the open part of the clip.
You can search for threads on setting the mixture to get step by step instructions.
I have the NGK plug, and in all honesty, I don't see any difference from the stock plug, I think. Not a difference measurable by a human in my case...maybe a machine, but I can't really tell....but then again, everyone's got their own opinions