I don't know that the OP can or wants to sell a gift.
So if I wanted to beef up the tone of a Les Paul, I would start by putting heavier strings on and playing with string heights (probably you should raise the strings). Watch the truss rod. The string tension of heavier strings on a Gibson scale length guitar will feel similar to lighter strings on a Fender scale guitar.
Then I would jack around with tailpiece heights, try top-wrapping and/or a different tailpiece, such as a Tonepros locking unit. You may also want to install steel tune-o-matic studs and try swapping out the Nashville tailpiece for an ABR-1. Remember that a Les Paul Custom owes a lot of its construction techniques to Gibson archtops so treat it sort of like an archtop. Again, watch the truss rod.
Details can be found on the Les Paul Forum.
In my experience, may "bad" guitars are just not set up optimally. Once you have a setup that gives you maximum playability and sound, only then should you look to pickups and electronics (I personally like diMarzio potentiometers and vintage caps).
The result is a guitar that will help you score with chicks.