His first resource is his Senior Patrol Leader. A BSA Troop has a definite chain of command, and he should use it. If his SPL is inexperienced, they should all be working with either the Scoutmaster or an Assistant that the SM has appointed for this. He should also get himself a copy of the Patrol Leader's Handbook (if the Troop didn't provide him with one) and read through it. There's also a link on the National web site that provides an intro to his responsibilities.
Your Troop should be running a Junior Leader Training course (which takes about 6 hours to run); there's an official syllabus and video tape that National puts out. If the Troop doesn't run it, talk to the SM and see if they can put it on. The Council may also run a training course, but that's usually during the summer.
The Patrol Leader is the most important position in a Troop. He's going to find it frustrating, since his peers may not understand the implications of electing a leader and may not want to treat him seriously when he tries to exert some leadership. Make sure he realizes that "follow me" works a lot better than "you go do that".
Thanks for the advice - I'll go over this with him. We'll get him the handbook, and look for the training.