Too Complicated - get back to basics!

Ditto as to the USB MTP - MSC modes issue.  My guess is, if you set the USB mode on your Clip Zip (under System Settings) to MSC mode, your new player will work just like the earlier ones.  Mine does. 

(Note:  as your computer only shows the files that are on your Clip that were transferred to the Clip under the USB mode you currently are set to, you might want to copy the current files on your Clip to your computer, erase them on the Clip, reset the Clip’s USB mode to MSC mode, and then transfer the files back to your player.  This way, your computer will see all the files that are on your Clip, when you set the player’s USB mode to MSC mode.)