From what i hear ipod requires objective C but you can get away with doing almost(?) everything in C.
I would like to know can i program everything i need in C++ (which wouldnt touch ipod libs) then have the little C and obj C code required to run? or is it impossible to use C++ on the ipod?(due to runtime or whatever reason)
You can do it easily with Dragon Fly SDK.
If you want something free, you have to write some binder in objective c and call them from c++ code..
If you just need a few c++ libraries, try cross-compiling.