Just went through:
format > 'restore' via itunes > install rockbox
that all worked fine.
with the ipod still attached I went into media monkey and synched an album. When I 'ejected' the ipod it rebooted and stated that it needed to build the dbase. I said ok, it went through and then said something else [1/9 etc.]
Anyway, I was pleased to see the album listed in the database, with the proper artist, track names etc. I then tried to synch another album. This next album would not appear (even with 'rebuild database' under media monkey - this seems to do nothing), so I went into the settings (on the device) and chose 'initialise database' - it did the ?/9 thing and then I could see the new album in the database.
This is a pretty roundabout way of doing things but if it is the only option then I could settle for it - I suppose I could synch a whole lot of stuff and then do the init dbase thing on all of them (?)
thanks for all the help, past and future.
ed