I use this website, it has excellent notes not only on aerodynamics but also on stability and control.
http://www.flightlab.net/Flightlab.n...rse_Notes.html
I struggled with the theory of lift for 3 years at uni.
Couple of things I have in my head off hand which help me to understand:
Inviscid fluids cannot produce lift. This has been experimentally proven. There has been experiments with superfluid helium which prove this is true. Viscosity is essential for the production of circulation, which is a function of the Starting vortex (which you can see in the bath, push your flat hand through water at an angle of attack and you can see it). There is a theory (von Karmen I think) which states there has to be an equal and opposite vortex attached at the wing to maintain balance of forces.
2D wing sections do not produce lift. only 3D wing sections produce lift. 3 Dimensional effects are very important and form the heart of the "Bound Vortex" Theory of lift. This also explains downwash experienced by the fuselage aft of the wing and at the tailplane, changing pitching moment across the wing section and changing angle of attack experinced across the wing.
Without drag, there can be no lift. This comes back to both viscosity and also induced drag as a result of angle of attack of the wing to the freestream flow.