Yeah, but I can't see what possible meaning turning a track "off" (p. 28) could have if you can't choose not to record it.
The chart on p.35 worries (or would worry, if buying another deck fit into my plans right now) me too, but I see 6 and 8 track as reasonable maximum needs for folks with and without a suitable digital source to mix in, so both could be of interest in terms of calculating minimum card sizes needed for a project.
The power off issue would be more worrying to me as well, but I know on the DR2D you get a low battery error long before the unit actually powers itself off, so it's hard to imagine it doesn't enter some sort of safe mode at that point. So unless you batteries had an unexpectedly quick final discharge, it seems like you should be safe from that - at least when using AAs. An external battery going dead would probably have the same effect as unplugging though....but as long as you have a high enough capacity battery, maybe that's not an issue. I know the uncertainty is stressful, but really I can't remember the last time I actually had a battery go dead on me while recording.
Good luck if you keep your pre-order in effect!