Hi caniac,I believe there was a bug in an older version that when importing it would drop a channel. What version are you using?
You'll probably have to share the LMS file if you want it resolved. I don't get what you are looking for in a workaround. No you can't create new import channels if xLights is not finding them because there will be no data/effects associated with them to import. If you want more destination channels you just create more models in your Layout and have an open sequence with those models on the grid before you import.