Ok, I give up. I've been trying to make the DITA-OT do what I want it to do. It's a really powerful and flexible tool, and I know that somebody really smart could make it do just about anything. Problem is, I'm just not that damn smart, apparently. When it comes down to it, all I really want is Ant, since I'm writing my own stylesheets and only have one output format. Also, I am not likely to need DITA's transclusion mechanisms. So forget the DITA-OT, I'll just use Ant.
A pointless collection of incoherent ramblings that I inflict upon the world.