NOSUM:
Ok I get you reason.
If you could get access to the ground side of your load using an N channel device would need less components. But I understand your reluctance to break into the ground side of the load.
With your - and others' - help and patience, we wound up with a 5 component, 12 pin solution (the other stuff would have to be there anyway). I could not have hoped for anything simpler, and I suspect could not have come up with a much better, generalized solution using a driver chip.
It appears I got myself into hot water once again; see my initial attempt at switching and power management for this project. 
Cheers!
Dirk