Two questions:

1. Do elixirs of immortality serve any function in the game?

2. I've seen some posts about having 20000 gold on you and all other slots full, then dropping 10000 gold on the ground, and filling that slot, then dropping 9999 of the remaining 10000 still on you on the ground in a separate pile, then closing your inventory window, and then clicking on the 10000 pile on the ground. According to the cheat as it was described, you won't be able to pick up the 10000 gold on the ground because all your slots are slots are full, but when you check the 1 gold piece you still have on you, it will have turned to 10000 gold, with the 10000 gold you previously dropped on the ground still remaining there, thereby "creating" 9999 gold out of thin air. You repeat this again and again and make money the easy way. Heh, too good to be true. In fact, when you click on the 10000 gold on the ground, 9999 gold is added to the 1 gold on you and you're left holding 1 gold, so that you've gained nothing.
Whew, sorry for the involved description.

I assume that either this little scam never did work, or that, if it did, later patches fixed it. Anyone know the truth about this?

They are quest items, but if I remember correctly, you can complete the quest without them (the Langolin Quest).

As for the money cheats, you will find that if you have a character with the theft skill, and you husband your cash carefully, after a while, money ceases to be much of a concern. It is tough early on when you have to repair and you want to buy that nice shiny new amulet/ring/weapon etc. but trust me, it does get easier :D