Gnome is a tightly integrated group of programs. I have done a lot of work on minimal install, but have never taken on gnome. The best would be to install all of /gnome plus lots of other stuff partitcularly from /l.
better yet see
www.amigolinux.org for a ZipSlack style distro with X and windowmaker already installed. Knoppix-style autoconfiguration make for a quick 3-5 minute setup. Runs great even on old hardware.
