i get about 10 minutes per solve, so is there a way to deal with these issues which i *think* are the problems?

1) how to keep everything in alignment??

2) how to finger trick the layers without it coming out of alignment?

3) how to solve the first center faster?

I'm the last person to ask because I don't go for speed when solving the 7.
I enjoy the time it takes me to examine all the options while I solve.
I probably average 15-20 minutes, happily.

For advice I would say...

Centers are the one area I was able to improve on and you might already use these tips.
Glance over the cube to see the color that has the most completed columns/rows, at least 3.
Use that as your first color side and build around them.
I used to solve one center and just build each column without ever looking at what might already be partially solved.

Alignment issues come with the territory, at least it is not as bad as the v-cube 6.
You may want to check some modding videos to fix the clicking and locking.
Doesn't bother me but again, I don't go for speed.

My biggest road blocks are the last 2 centers, but I have improved on that by watching some good tutorial videos.
And of course edge pairing.

You are much faster than I am at the 7x7x7 as well, however I've always noticed on larger cubes the center solving takes me only a third or a quarter of the total time of solving the cube.

For instance, on the 5x5, it only take me maybe 2:30 minutes to solve for all of the centers, but it takes me about 3:30-4:00 for edge pairing, and about 1:00-1:30 to solve it as a 3x3x3, not including possible parity.

So, if you could get your edge pairing where there was no gap between finishing one edge and starting up a new one, I'm sure that you could cut a HUGE chunk off your time. If I were to be able to go from edge to edge near faultlessly, I'd probably cut 2:00 off my 5x5x5 solve time.

I average 6 to 7 minutes. It's all about look-ahead, which only gets better with practice.

Centers is a matter of making columns and putting them where desired. Check here. If this takes more than 3:30 to 4:00 minutes to do this you need to work on look-ahead here.

Edges can be optimized beyond what some guides teach you. The most preferred to speedcubers is discussed in this video. There are certain tricks you can teach yourself on how to get faster at this step, but once you have it down, it's only look-ahead you can really do to improve. This step tends to take the longest for many solvers (but not all). I finish mine in 3 minutes.

3x3x3 is the last step, obviously, but your choice in 3x3x3 solution has a good impact on your time as well. Consider learning different algorithms to compensate for the shape and size of the cube. Mine take usually 30 to 45 seconds. One way to improve your time by 5 to even 10 seconds on this step is to practice solving the 3x3x3 step on the big cube, not the normal 3x3x3 cube, and without inspection time.