For rivet holes, I would use flox to fill the holes, and a patch of BID cloth over that to secure it.
If this is a long run of rivet holes like a hinge line, you could use a BID tape to cover all the holes at once. Whatever way you do it, clean and scuff as needed.
For the repair of the nose gear slot, it depends on whether you have the old pieces to put back, or are creating a new part in total.
You mention that the previous patch came off----------this is one of the big problems with repairing old fiberglass.
There are three things that will affect the adhesion of a patch; cleanliness, surface prep--"Tooth". and resign compound used.
For a lower cowl repair, the cleanliness issue may just end up being a deal killer.
If this is a honeycomb core and prepreg layup, it is going to be extremely hard to get it clean enough to make a long lasting repair.
Do not be afraid to cut back material till you find an area that is totally free of oil inside the sandwich. You can use a flox mixture to close out the honeycomb, and just work off the exterior layup if needed.
Do you know if the cowl was make with epoxy or polyester??? You must use the same resin family to achieve the best repair.
For repairing a part when you have the pieces, fit things together as best as you can, I use a bit of medium CA to hold things in place. Then I put a single layer of BID on the outside of the part, to hold the parts in aliment, and give backing to the parts for the nest step....
Then, I go to the inside of the part, and grind a wide "V" shape at the joint area between the pieces. You want a
scarf of at least 7 to 1 if using a backup layer, or 12 to 1 if not. I always use a backup ply or three. After getting the "V" areas ground in, mix up a bit of resin and add a small amount of flox----you want the consistency to be about that of honey. The flos is only there to help fill any voids, try to not let it build up where the surface is flat. Wet out the "V" areas, and lay in a single layer of cloth. Stipple it out well, and put another layer over it, slightly narrower as the "V" fills. Add straight resin to wet it out, stipple, and add another layer till you have filled the "V". Now let it all cure.
After that is all done, sand the repaired surface till it is all smooth and level with the surrounding base material, and lastly layup a ply or two over the repaired area, giving at least 2" overlap onto the undamaged area.
When you have the inside of the cowl structurally repaired, go back to the exterior, and sand the area you first covered with cloth, look for high spots or low spots. Sand out the high ones, and scuff up the low ones, and fill with dry micro. Give it all another sanding till all is smooth, and the edges of the overlay feather out well.
Done, ready for paint.
Good luck.