Hey Birdie, as Joy mentioned above, Beleriand (which can conveniently be thought of as occupying what is, in LotR, the ocean west of the Blue Mountains) sank at the end of the First Age. So the famed Dwarven mansion was built, and remains, far to the east of the region that sank.
Here's a nice
map of Beleriand. You'll note the Ered Luin (Blue Mountains) on the extreme right side. On most maps of Middle-earth, you'll find them at the extreme upper left, to the West of the Shire.
I'm afraid this more or less squashes any theoretical geographical relationship between Gondolin and the Paths of the Dead.
[ September 17, 2002: Message edited by: Mister Underhill ]