Getting Around MPEG Streamclip "No Audio" Problem

Question

(Long post; apologies in advance.)
I needed to get around the MPEG Streamclip "no audio" problem that other people here have had. I just found a workaround that more-or-less works for my specific situation ... and it's free to boot.
Since other people are having this problem, I thought I'd let you know what happened to me, so you can decide if this is something you want to try. If you do, I suggest posting replies here so we all can learn (if that's okay with the board moderators here).
QTAmateur for MacOS X is available at http://www.mikeash.com/software/qtamateur/ . The developer has a somewhat full explanation of what it does at the site, so I won't repeat it here (and I don't get anything for talking about it here; I just want to share the good news).
Right now I'm field recording with a Flip Mino camera (non-HD), which saves video/audio to an AVI file (3ivx MPEG-4, 640x480) at 30 fps, with 44.1 kHz audio (Microsoft ADPCM). Funny thing is the files from my Flip actually imported into FCE without any conversion, but I had to render everything. And the video looked like crap. Hated the rendering and the look, so I searched for other solutions.
After paying for a couple of things that didn't work (lessons learned there), I finally found MPEG Streamclip. Since I'm using Snow Leopard, I sunk the additional $20 into the dang MPEG-2 playback component after my initial export try didn't produce any audio. After the component install, I still didn't have audio. Grrrrr.
So I Googled a bunch of keywords, and I somehow stumbled across this QTA package. Snow Leopard users should note a minor drawback here: QTA needs QuickTime 7, which gets blown away in a Snow Leopard upgrade and is not included in new Macs with Snow Leopard. Users can get off of their Install DVD, though, so it's not a huge deal.
When exporting from QTA, I matched its settings (audio and video) with the ones I found in this document: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=12274888&#12274888 . QTA's export interface is actually QT7s, so at least that's familiar.
The only problem I'm having is that even though I set QTA to export at 29.97 fps, the exported files are still at 30 fps. A quick change in FCE upon import is the only thing I needed to use the file without rendering. I also had to change the fps setting on my LiveType files.
The only thing I need to figure out is to how to match up some studio-recorded audio with all of the above, so I don't have to render the studio audio and so it comes out at the equivalent of 30 fps. I think all I need to do is record at 44.1 KHz and I'm okay.
Of course, this is all my experience, and I realize others may not be able to work with this kind of setup. But I think this is an interesting workaround .. I wouldn't really call it a full solution, though, mainly because of the 29.97 fps versus 30 fps aspect.
One other quick thing: I'm not sure if this works without that $20 MPEG-2 playback component from Apple (thanks for that charge, Apple!), since I already had the component installed when I discovered QTA. Someone without the component, though, can download this and see if it works. If it does, then we all know that we don't need to spend the extra $20 for it to work.
If you decide to take the plunge, please let us know here. Thanks for reading.

Answer 1

@Tom and @Meg:
Thanks so much for your replies (speedy, too!). I especially want to thank Meg, who took the time to replicate the problem (which confirms to myself that I'm not nuts ). At least I know I have an ultimate "savior" in QT7 Pro.
Before I spend that final $30, though, I want to see if Tom can help, based on what the QT Inspector says about my .avi files from the Flip. Here's what it says:
VID00001.AVI
Format: Generic MPEG-4, 640 x 480, Millions
Microsoft ADPCM, Mono, 44.100 kHz
FPS: 30
Data Rate: 3408.53 kbits/s
Normal Size: 640 x 480 pixels
Current Size: 640 x 480 pixels (Actual)
(that's word for word, except for the source [file location]; wish I could figure out how to paste in the window from my Grab of it.)
I've already done the exports in the same way Meg indicated in her reply, trying all kinds of combinations. When exporting, though, I've always used DV/DVCPRO w/audio @ uncompressed 48k, and frame size @ 720x480 @ 29.97fps settings (saw those in another post here at the forum). I'm thinking those aren't contributing to my situation.
Whaddya think, Tom?
BTW, the biggest reason why I want to have the audio is to easily sync the audio off the digital recorder (I hook myself up with a lav mic) to the audio coming off of the Flip. I do the ol' "triple clap" trick to sync audio, so that helps -- thank goodness for audio waveforms in FCE.
Once synced, I then delete the Flip audio and move the digital recorder audio up to A1/A2 (although I delete the A2 audio channel). Sounds 1000% better than the Flip audio, as I record outside and the Flip mic picks up wind big-time.
BTW, Tom: I bought your book earlier this week. It's really, really good. You could teach an entire college semester class off of this book, and do it well. I'm getting to more of the lessons this week.