Thanks guys (gals?)…I think this is resolving itself peacefully, which makes it a happy ending. I hope.
But let me admit one thing I overlooked: I (naively) assumed that the typical procedure is to manage the library on a computer, and then copy over songs to the player as needed. (This came up recently in another thread in terms of running MP3Tag…run it on your library, or run it on your player?) Anyway, I’m sure my bias showed through on that issue: I do all the housecleaning on my PC. It frankly didn’t occur to me that someone would archive their songs on disks and then maintain the library as it were on the player. That DOES make the distinction between folders and playlists a little more complex.
Except for eliasf’s program (which is the one I was thinking of!). 
I think that’s the perfect compromise.
(On a related note: I notice that when I connect my View in MSC mode–yes, I realize this is the Clip Forum!–MediaMonkey recognizes the internal drive, but not the sdMicro card. So managing my files directly on the View itself is problematic.)
-Matt
