Can I save my keywords?

Question

I'd like to be able to save my keywords on this most recent rescue of my iPhoto Library, as it was a lot of work to get them all done.
Excuse the long post, but I've tried a bunch of things to solve this problem and would like to give anyone out there as much info as possible to help me.
First: How it began: I was updating a brand new iPod 60 Gb and the computer seized (spinning ball). To make a long story short, the iPod was not able to be reset and was returned to the store. Since that attempt to update the new iPod, my iPhoto has seized - endless spinning of ...Library loading. I did not have access to the internet at the time, so was using a June 05 version of iPod update software that was supplied with the unit.
In my frustrations to deal with the iPod and iPhoto locking issues, I deleted any file that mentioned iPod in the name.
I checked my library and everything appears to be there, in fact it looks like there might even be more there than before - like more thumbnails. That's a bit of a guess as I don;t get in there all the time looking around.
My iPhoto library is stored on an external Lacie hard drive and since my initial problems and losing my library with the upgrade to iLife '05, re-importing all of my photos from CD's, etc., there had been no problems.
BUT the Library won't load and now my original CD back-ups of most, but not all of my photography are on the other side of the country and pretty hard to access. So I followed Old Toad's directions on another thread and re-installed iPhoto. Library still won;t load. I tried to launch iPhoto holding both the Command (apple key) and option key and I still get the Loading Library spin. I can open iPhoto using just the option key, but it will only let me create a new library and not open my library or back-up.
I also created a new library and then tried to import a photo from the old library and it wouldn't take it giving me a screen that said something like unsupported file (It was a jpg file)
I now have the photoextractor and am giving that a whirl, but I have a feeling that I am going to lose all of my keywords, slideshows, books in progress, albums, smart everythings, etc.
My library before this was about 8000 images and 11.85 Gb. Other than the initial probalems, there were no problems with it running BEFORE the iPod
If anyone has any suggestions on how I might be able to save my keywords, book demos, slideshows, and all of that other organization along with my photos, I would appreciate it.
I have created duplicates of my library, but I suspect that they may be damaged as nothing will load except a new library.
Or should I just give up on iPhoto and forget about an iPod.

Answer 1

Lori and Old Toad - thanks for your suggestions - but apparently it's pretty much a lost cause. I've been trying everything to salvage the situation, so that's the delay in posting with results.
I took the iPod back and got a new one. The new one didn't cause the same problem (well it couldn't now could it?) and could also be reset to factory. The organization, albums, slideshows, books - everything except the images in iPhoto library are toast - lost and gone. I have the images back online and did have them on CD's, but the CD's are about 5000 kms from me in a storage locker. and not too easily accessible. My iPhoto would also not let me "Build a library". Create or choose and then would not open the chosen one.
I talked to some Apple people who I can't name unfortunately but they talked me through everything and another suggested that I back up my data, wipe out my disc and reload everything from scratch and then there might be a slight chance that I could recover the information. I've never wiped out my disc. That's seems like a lot of work and a lot of risk and now of course, my confidence (and some pride) in Apple has gone down a lot. It really was weeks and weeks and weeks of work to prep some books, do all the slideshows during a year long trip and organize everything for a website in progress. It was meant to showcase my photography.
My internal hard drive has 25 gb available out of 55 - everything was working just fine until the iPod. I have figured out that the Photo iPod is working in the background while iTunes cannot shut it down. Once iPhoto starts working with it to optimize the photos has something to do with it. There was something in that process that screwed it up.
In the end, I was able to "add to Library", but everything came in on one roll.
I had my external hard drives tested and everything on them is working fine - both Lacie.
For now, I'm hopeful that some solution might become available and am not trashing my backed up - albeit corrupted iPhoto library with all the organizational stuff done. I just got a DVD writer that works.
I'm probably going to write Apple a letter to express my disappointment. If the iPod had never been plugged in, I not only would have saved all of the work that I did, but would not have been bogged down and delayed by dealing with all this. And you can imagine that my family who all collected together to give me the iPod as a big anniversary delayed multi-year birthday present didn't feel that great either when I asked them to please just bring it back.
Nobody has slit their wrists, but situations being completely hopeless never feel good. I don't blame my family. I do blame Apple.
Thanks for your help and suggestions, especially to retreive the images back into some sort of library. As for buying iView Media Pro for $200, I just bought iLife '05 for the iPhoto for just over $100 six months ago. How do I know that's not going to have a meltdown after I do all that work and plug the iPod in again? I want things to work, I don't want to have to keep on buying one program after another. Even tho' it's just $200, it feels like first it's just over $100 for iLife, then almost $200(CDN with tax) for Tiger upgrade, then with the iPod iPhoto, you have to buy the camera connector and they don;t include the little cord controller anymore - so there's another $130...okay I'm whining now.
Obviously I'm not a lost customer yet - but I'm getting closer. I've had Apple computers for 15 years. Things worked - things were good - and maybe now Apple is just rushing everything out with testing it. I don't know. Even Tiger's widgets are a little wonky.