about 1: in theater view you could add an external program in the options. mc15.exe is choosen as standard. there is a mcc command for running autoimport, i think its /mcc 23020, put that in the parameter. look here:
http://wiki.jrmediacenter.com/index.php/Media_Center_Core_Commandsmake a backup first before testing.
about 2: would it make any difference when you set the thumbnail exit behaviour to leave. its under tools>tree & view>thumbnails. no idea, but maybe.
an other option you have is leave the network disks alone in autoimport, so that they stay in the library, but use this expression in the rule for the video views in Theater View:
[Media Type]=[Video] [=ismissing([filename])]=0
now the is missing command checks for files that are not online, and this rule leaves the files that are ofline out of the view.
there are two important things though. when done on a lot of files the ismissing command can be slow, since every file has to be checked. but i tested it just on my library with all my audio and video files, and it took just 2 seconds. the other important thing is, is that the ismissing command does not work with ifo files. they are always missing.
when you use the rule in Theater View, you must reenter the video view you must reenter the view after turning on the disk.
hope this gives some ideas.
gab
edit: when setting up the thing i suggested in 1, make sure to uncheck 'hide media center when program is running'.