XREFS and Visretain and Lineweights (Redux)

List.

Now that I'm plotting again here I've got a wicked old question I've never
resolved despite many attempts. Could be I'm thickheaded, could be it's
never been addressed.

Issue is this:

I use Wblock to create Xrefs (from a Working Drawing) and am always going
back into the Working Drawing to update lineweights, change objects to
different layers etcetera - in order to make a drawing read clearly. I Xref
these Wblocks into my Plot Sheet in order to setup the plot and let the info
update automatically.

Oftentimes I will change the color of a whole drawing (say a Site Plan that
I want to read as reference only) to a light grey in the Plot Sheet.

If I set Visretain to 0 then the color change of the Site Plan gets lost
each time I close out the drawing. If I set Visretain 1 then I don't get the
updated lineweights when the Xrefs come back in (after they were updated
from in the Working Drawing).

Is there something new in 04 that would assist me in this. Despite a couple
of seemingly good suggestions, I never was able to crack this in 2000 and
there was always some questions as to whether it was possible to resolve.

Any suggestions?

- Jonathan