Emu XL-7 & MP-7 User's Group

I'm trying to use the my XL-7 (with OS 2.0) for controlling both 
internal and external sounds.

I've tried changing the MIDI channel of a particular track in a 
Pattern, such that I'm playing an external device on "10B".  ( 
actually, I'd like to set several tracks to the same MIDI channel, 
since I'm using a drum synth but would like to pull bass drums, 
snares, etc in & out seperately just like the presets do to internal 
sounds)

I save the pattern (no sequence data), but when I reload the pattern, 
my channel selection is gone, and the track resorts to it's usual 
default (ie- track 01 is set to channel 01A, instead of 10B like I 
had tried to save!)(btw-I know it's saving, because I can change the 
pattern name, and that will save & reload correctly)

Is it possible to save a track's channel # in a pattern without 
having sequence data on that track?  I'd like to save a "template" 
for creating new patterns using my external devices, but don't want 
to hand edit track channel numbers everytime I create a new track.

It doesn't seem to me that this is a multisetup thing, is it?  
Something else I'm missing?

Also, even though I set the track to "ext"ernal, the internal sounds 
still play!  I can only get rid of them by loading a "Default" sound 
(ie-no sound) as the preset for that track.

-jk*