It sounds like you have a good plan. Going through those fundamental courses will give you a good base, and then you can work on your lead. Learning chords is also great for lead because it strengthens your hands and gives you more dexterity, and that transfers over to your lead playing.
Do you have your heart set on a Gibson Les Paul? Let me tell you my story: after 5 months of playing guitar, I bought a new 2014 Gibson LP Studio. But I soon realized that it was NOT the right guitar for me. Why? Because I have big hands and I like to play lead. Out of all the guitars, Les Pauls have the skinniest frets, especially the high notes. So it's not very comfortable to play lead on the higher frets.
Of course there are exceptions, and you can get used to anything. But I would try out some Ibanez, PRS, or Fender Strats (I love my Strat and Ibanez).
Good luck!
