A second call to Delta today, with supervisor check, confirmed they will not lend even a single mile! They stated this is because you can buy miles on their website (but which I'm maxed out on).

Then after multiple holds and callbacks I was told I could excede the Delta website's mile purchase limits by going to miles4sale.com and buying more miles (didn't say how high I could go, I bought 500 because that's all I need and they're expensive, $20 for 500). I'll see if Delta actually lets them post so I can go for the Virgin award, supposedly should post within 24-48 hours.

I also iDined today, but not clear when that will post. Otherwise, I'll find a flight, which posts quickly but costs $ and is inconvenient right now. (My as yet unposted miles are not flight miles, but various promotional and purchases miles, several thousand of them).

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions, I'll fill you in how it ends.