Answered my own question + received some feedback.

Thanks, checksubdirs is not mentioned in the FAQ. It just says to make
sure you don't want a repocopy instead, and use Tools/scripts/addport.

Never mind the new port question, I found it in FAQ.

Cripes, I have no memory of removing that. I hope it's good now.
Let's get this one tied up and then you won't hear from me again until
I restore some order to my life... ;-)

Hopefully final patch for this upgrade. Added one overlooked runtime dep.

Yeah, that might be a good idea. I took this as more of a future reference tip than something urgent for this port, and I've added a note to my checklist.

The do-test target is proving a little squirrely. I'll have to come back to this when I'm not so slammed...

Ooops, made changes to wip instead of biology the first time.

Good stuff, thanks guys! I added these tips to my checklist.

Ugh, slow down Jason...