Thanks for the suggestions. Ultimately the split to mono tracks was the best option. For single instruments (ex just the kick drum, or a bass)splitting results in two nearly identical tracks. I just delete one, leaving a mono track. Other than piano, which tends to be significantly different on the L and R tracks, this works out well. Drum tracks vary a lot left to right also, but I already separate each part of the drum kit to a separate track.
Brian