Help! Closing down leaks. (longish)

[jedi]

I've been running pretty break even/down over the last month or so, and I'm trying to identify some leaks of mine, and what to do about it. If these are obvious to you, then chime in and help save my bankroll.

1. Playing missed overcards. I religiously raise with AK and AQ, and usually KQ and AJ when the circumstances allow. I even fire off a continuation bet when I feel the flop has missed my opponents. Sometimes I'm even right, but they call me down anyways, catch a Jack on the river and proudly show off their QJ because "I knew you were bluffing." I have 2 questions about this:

a) Am I bloating the pot too much pre-flop so that it becomes correct to call with just 2 overcards?

b) Am I just not making the correct reads at the table any more? I figure that I need to know 1: Will they call with just overcards into a raised pot and a pre-flop raiser. 2: What is their image of me, trying to bully with just AK? 3: Will they fold to a turn follow-up bet? 4: How far will they go with an unimproved middle pair?

Are these all questions that I need to be asking of my opponents? Are there any more that I can think of? I think this is the biggest problem in my game, as it's a common situation that I see. Improving this part of my game can help me greatly.

2. Getting raised or check-raised, especially on the turn. Usually, when I'm in a hand with AA or another premium type hand, I hit the brakes when I get raised. When I get check-raised on the turn, it's especially bothersome as I'm going to call down 2 more Big Bets to see a showdown. This is all in limit poker, and making big laydowns in large pots (which this is because I'm raising pre-flop) is NOT the way to win money. Should I just toss my bets in and expect to see a set beat me? Some times I'm up against 2 pair in which case I have hidden outs here. Reads here help. If I'm up against someone that's passive and always waits for the turn to raise the flopped monster, can I fold here with confidence? Calling down makes me feel like a calling station, the type of players I don't want to become, but folding here just seems wrong too.

It's easy to lay this down with just AK, no pair, no draw. But when I have a legit hand like TPTK, it's tough to lay this down. I'm not sure I should be laying it down either (on un-scary boards), but I don't like just bending over and taking it either.

That's just 2 for now. I'm sure I'll have more in my head after the evening session.