PLAYLIST PROBLEM--Help if you Can!

Question

Okay, so I just got an iPod Nano 4th Generation and I know nothing.
I had a number of music and other audio files in my iTunes Library, all together in the main playlist as I didn't know how to make separate playlists.
When I plugged my iPod in, I thought it might let me select which tunes I wanted from the Library playlist by checking them, BUT NO, it just sucked every bit of audio (that it understood) onto the iPod whether I wanted it there or not.
Then, I thought I would be smart (never try to outsmart a machine!) I thought I would create a separate playlist for the audio I DIDN'T want on my iPod, and leave what I DID want in my iTunes Library. I managed to create a playlist, and got some of the tunes from the Library to the new Playlist, although there was some audio (phone messages and other files which were not tunes) it didn't seem to like and although it was in the iTunes Library would not transfer to the new playlist.
Then, it played a DIRTY ROTTEN TRICK on me. I had a tune I wanted in the new playlist but NOT the Library or iPod, so I deleted it from the iTunes Library and IT TOOK IT OFF THE NEW PLAYLIST, TOO! Now, what's the point of having separate playlists, if you can't have some things in one, and some in another?
Meanwhile, the best way (really, since there are not many tunes on it) I see of getting the unwanted audio off my iPod is just to Refresh--since I tried the instructions (as far as I could make them out) for deleting individual tunes, and it didn't work, so to heck with it--trouble is, now the iPod copy of the one tune is the only copy I have! So is there a way I can:
1. Get this audio OFF MY iPOD, (since there doesn't seem to be a way to recover deleted audio in iTunes--is there?) into the iTunes playlist in which I want it in but NOT my main iTunes Library and
2. Get the other audio out of my main library to the new Playlist
so I can at least start all over? Also, once I get things on the iPod the way I want (ha) can I put tunes already on the iPod into another Playlist and delete them from the main Library playlist, so it doesn't copy them all over the next time I try to put something on my iPod? Thanks for any helpful suggestions!

Answer 1

if I don't want it on the iPod I delete it straight out of the library
Then you don't need to tick *Sync only checked items*.
I'd like to keep the albums as playlists, you know, in case anything happens to this iPod or I get another.
Don't know what this means. If you get another iPod, just plug it in whether you have playlists or not.
You don't need to keep individual playlists for each album. iTunes menu View -> Show browser to see each individual Genre, Artist and Album.
You don't need ANY playlist to put everything onto the iPod.
Just select the iPod in iTunes, click the Music tab and select *Sync all music and playlists*.
And you can use iTunes without the iPod.