Wrong sequence settings used on my timeline; can I copy the timeline to a new sequence with correct settings?

Question

The clip properties are Frame size 1440x1080, 23.98 fps (yes a problem for FCE), Compressor:  Apple Intermediate Codec, but unfortunately I did all of my hard work on a 30 minute film on a sequence that has SD settings (Frame size 720x480), 29.97 fps, compressor: DV/DVCPRO- NTSC. I first noticed there was a problem when I could only get the exported quicktime movie to appear as a 4:3 when it was supposed to be a 16:9.  I have overcome that problem by exporting using quicktime conversion and customizing the settings to reflect the correct item properties of the original clips. 
But my concern is that my project is still fundamentally based on a timeline that was created in a sequence with SD settings and that maybe I have lost some resolution quality.  I am sitting here looking at the iDVD preview and I am not always sure it looks as sharp as the same clip viewed in FCE dropped in a sequence with the right settings.  But maybe iDVD preview isn't as sharp, or maybe it's just myimagination.  Any thoughts?
Ideally, what I would liketo do is to copy my timeline out of the first sequence with the wrong settings,and to copy it into a new sequence with the proper settings.  But I am wondering if that timeline is now "infected" with the wrong settings,and brings these over to the new sequence.  The guy on the Apple help linetold me this was unfortunately the case.  Am I really going to have tocompletely do this work over again to get a completely correct workflow?
Any way around this?

Answer 1

Al,
very much appreciate your time on this.  Hopefully just one more question.  I am trying to figure out whether or not converting the tremendous amount of footage I have from this project shot in 24p will be worth it.  In my mind, it is only worth it, if by not doing it, I will end up with a finished product that does not have as good of a picture quality.  At this point, I dont care at all about having the 'film look' 24p is supposed to give you, I just dont the picture quality degraded somehow because FCE doesnt support 24p, and I am using a 29.97fps sequence to edit it. 
So with all of that said, my question is this:
1.  When you said before that when a clip hits a sequence it conforms to the properties of the sequence, what do you think is happening to the clip?  For instance, if the clip in the Browser as you shot it has got 1440 pixels for every 1080 lines and you place it on a 720x480 sequence, is some of that information literally disappearing?  That seems hard to believe.  I would think that kind of conversion would require a program to execute it and some processing time, but the drag and drop on a sequence is instantaneous.  And my HD footage on the SD sequence still seems to look better to me than my SD stuff, although that could just be perception.  Same issue with the frame rate.  When I drag and drop a 24fps clip onto a sequence set for 29.97 fps, how can the clip now have more frames per second?  That would be additonal information that was never captured in the first place.  How is that possible?  I do believe that the clips are changed in some way that affects the output, but it doesnt seem possible that 'conforming' to the properties of the sequence is the same thing as if you shot the original footage with those sequence settings. Something else must be meant by that right?
2.  Will converting the original clips in streamclip change the frame rate..them from 24p to 29.97?  If they are still 24p, then don't you still run into the same problem when you edit in FCE?  And if they are changed to 29.97, how is that better than just dropping them onto a sequence set to HDV 1080 29.97fps and having it conform to that?  What exactly is the upshot of doing the streamclip conversion?  Especially if I don't care about the 24p look now.