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Just looking for some tips and tricks for the original boys in black, lists people run etc etc, and if duel kheres assault cannons is the way to go on a contemptor dread.

dual kheres is very popular, but the deredeo is a new competitor.

I generally hear good things about the RG special units.

My next army, wish I could tell you more about how to use them.
The recon guys are really good, better than a standard recon team.
The lightning claw assault guys are too pricey.
I am middle of the road on the Gunship. On one hand it doesn't look bad, on the other, I think I would rather have a Fire Raptor.

I see people complaining about the primarch not being worth his points, but I have never seen the role of a primarch as far a competitive list goes and see them as more for big point fun games.

I assume you are already familiar with standard 30k legion rules and units.

I use dual Kheres Contemptor in my Night Lords army, its awesome and is usually my only dedicated AA unit.

Raven Guard want to alpha strike. Whether that comes from infiltrated infantry, drop pod assault or massed Deep Strike, the game is won or lost in the opening turns. Everything about the army encourages that lightning punch and so you want to maximise your damage output right from the start.
Essentially everything in your army wants to be contributing to the fight from Turn 2 at the latest. Anything later than that will be arriving after the battle is already decided. To that end, generally speaking you want everything either Infiltrating, Drop Podding, Deep Striking or having the speed to get in immediately.

The army is made to run Decapitation Strike. The penalty to HS slots is not an issue when Raven Guard have minimal benefit from vehicles, but the +1 to go first and the absolutely crazy flexibility regarding Drop Pods are both fantastic.
This is also super easy to achieve because Maun is dirt cheap, and also the premier Deep Strike commander in the game.

In terms of unique units, the important ones are Mor Deythan. Fatal Strike, Combi-Flamers and Maun's infiltrated bubble essentially guarantees the removal of any single enemy unit, Turn 1, for a net gain in points traded. They are a hammer of similar strength to Seekers or Plasma-Support, except they come in cheaper and don't melt themselves from Gets Hot.
Dark Furies are a reasonable unit, not as good as the Mor but certainly workable. They are built to be your mass-removal tool in the absence of artillery. Get a unit stuck in and you can Sweep out even a 20-man TacBlob with Apothecary support.

Neither of the unique units are built to deal with tanks, and the lack of HS slots only makes this worse. To that end you need to pull anti-tank pieces from Elites. Raven Guard get theirs Infiltrated, which is obviously fantastic. Quad-Mortars and Graviton are both solid options, personally I prefer the Mortars because of the flexibility to carpet bomb mobs away. You'll need them to plink out any Deredeo's in the backfield turn 1 if you plan on using aircraft. Notably the Lightning is a great piece, with its fragility far less of an issue once Infiltrated artillery has removed any Skyfire.

In terms of the 'core' list, I'd probably expect to see something like:
- Maun
- 2 Rapier batteries
- Mor Deythan in either Rhinos or Pods. Choose your transport based on the DPA makeup of your army.
- Tacticals. Any build you fancy; A good option is to Pod them, then Fury on Turn 2, then charge Turn 3. Remember your Drop Pods essentially act as bunkers in 30k.
- Lightnings packing Kraken missiles
- Scorpius, Fire Raptor or Mechanicum HS

Also, good choice. Raven Guard are easily the coolest Legion and one of the least-played in the current game.