Just some closure here.... I'm getting my ipod to recharge again. If I have it plugged directly into the computer, it'll top up, but if I have it plugged into a hub coming off my keyboard, it'll only maintain battery level (at least it won't spend any, or much).
In the process of experimenting with this, I did factory restore on the thing (through ITunes) twice. I don't know, however, whether this really had any effect. I guess it did, since before, when plugged into the hub off the keyboard, the battery would actually be used up while running the 'pod. Still, I'm left a little unclear on exactly what happened to fix this...
Hope this helps someone else.
Dave