Utterly useless responses, all the way around. 
Making it inactive, or adjusting the inventory amount, does not even come close to solving any of the related problems. 
I have MASSIVE P&L numbers relating to the inactive items, and since there is no way to get rid of them, the reports are complete  s**t
This is a fundamental issue that really needs to be addressed!

Thanks SO MUCH for forcing me to start over, for the third time.