Help to restore iTunes files from trash, not deleted.

I need to move 35,000 podcasts, 654 GB, from my trash back to my iTunes library on an external hard drive (EHD). They are NOT deleted from my trash.
I am running on Snow Leopard 10.6.8 until I can clear enough EHD space to backup/upgrade to Mtn Lion.
11.5 iTunes is my current version on my 640 GB early 2009 24” mac.
I have tried:
Undo - command + Z
Selecting all in trash and dragging it to the:
iTunes Music folder on my EHD
Automatically Add to iTunes folder on my EHD
The upper left corner on the iTunes window
The iTunes icon in the dock
There is no restore option when I Right Click on anything in trash, single or more than one file.
In iTunes: File, Add to Library, selecting the recycle bin or the file under it. Nothing happens. I do have checked on iTunes Preferences, Advanced, Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library.
Dragging 40 files from trash to the Automatically Add to iTunes folder on my EHD.
This returned the files but without essential data like the release date/description, which totally messes up my library.
They are no longer listed in date order, and I cannot see if I have the most recent without scrolling down down through sometimes over 200 pods in that album, and even then there is no date order, which orders all podcasts. All the tags/descriptions/comments I spent thousands of hours on are gone.
I just recieved in the mail yesterday my Data Rescue 3 software for an earlier problem,
I do not know if it will help retrieve all the essential data.
I cannot move the files to my desktop because the size, 654 GB, is bigger than my 640 GB mac. Plus, I know from experience this does not preserve the essential data like release date.
My iTunes EHD has 485 GB free out of 1.71 TB.
I can order another 3 TB EHD to arrive in 2 weeks, which I will eventually need, but my husband aint going to be happy. As an old photographer trying to join the digital age, I already have 20 TB storage, mostly for photos, which has put us in debt.
Please, does anyone know how to restore podcasts from trash while retaining metadata?

Thanks for your sympathy, dclkdm.
For anybody else out there,
I have had some luck retaining info such as release date, plays, and rating by
dragging podcasts to a Finder folder in iTunes,
in iTunes Media,
Automatically Add to iTunes.
So far, I have retrieved all my lost podcasts with Data Rescue 3,
but have not tried to consolidate everything into one library yet.

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