I read RP1 when I was like 12 and enjoyed the shit out of it. I know nothing about the 80s; the references meant nothing to me. But once I suspended my disbelief (as is traditional when reading soft sci-fi), iit was a really fucking enjoyable adventure story with what were, believe it or not, real people-like characters. So no, the value of the book isn't entirely tied up in the references, and fine there are a lot of plot holes but who gives a shit? I liked it. I mean, obviously it's not great literature. No one said it was. So if you stop expecting Dickens, you might just have some fun. Plus I met Ernie Cline and he's a super nice guy.
To be completely honest I liked story. Even more, story was a single thing I really liked about this book. I was overwhelmed by amount of references on one page and character development wasn't that good. The only character I liked in this book was friend of Halliday, I forgot his name. He had some kind of persistent character. But yeah, even though I COMPLETELY agree with what OP wrote I still liked this book. Probably I wouldn't if I buy it.