Thanks for the advice, folks.
Tomorrow I'll have to speak to my Trg WO again, and ask if there's anybody at LFAA with whom we could get in contact, and see what the delay is, and if there is actually any possibility of getting a position number. The folks at my end know I'm motivated; the trouble is to motivate others to get me some answers.
As for dropping out of university, I've actually just gotten back into it this past spring after taking three years off to be a Sig Op in the regulars when I got properly sick of university the first time around. Granted, I am concerned about delaying things another year, and being the creepy old guy in the class (even more so than now), but I'll be back, if for no other reason than to run with the MUN cross-country team.
As for there being other tours? There are a couple reasons I'd like to have a go at this one specifically.
Firstly, many/most of the reserves are being drawn from LFAA, with a fair number going from my unit. Naturally, I'd prefer to go on tour with a crowd from my regiment.
Secondly, I'd feel awfully silly sitting on the sidelines "with the halftime oranges and the fat wheezy boys with a note from Matron" when so many folks I know have either just gotten back this summer, or are over there now, or are going this winter. If I don't do my damnedest to get on this tour, I'll have to get a "no shaving" chit because I won't be able to look at the "hangashore" in the mirror. Also, if I don't get back overseas before 2 CMBG HQ & Sig Sqn (my old unit) goes in Nov 07, that will confirm to me that getting out of the regulars to go back to school was an ABSOLUTELY boneheaded decision.
As a third point, I was always told that TF 1-07 was desperate for bodies. Another compelling reason to "do my bit." I've heard stories about significant numbers of troops signing on to do the training in order to get some work, and then bailing, either having changed their minds or never having intended to deploy in the first place.
Besides these, I see the tour as something to get out of the way; I need to satisfy my wanderlust (at least for a while) so that I can settle into my schooling, content in the knowledge that there's a set timeframe before I'd be allowed overseas again. Maybe have a go at Reserve Entry Scheme for Officers--can't do it now, because it would delay any chance of deployment for a few years. If I do this tour, I may be back in time to go back to school in the fall, only having to write off two semesters, whereas if I wait six months and have a go at the next one, I'll be missing the winter semester to train, and the fall and following winter semester for the tour itself (since 3-07 won't end until February).
One theory I've heard about the delay in receiving the position number is that "broken" individuals may still be taking up position numbers.
Even if there is no chance in hell that I'm going on this tour, it would be nice to get a solid answer. Right now I feel rather like a mushroom (kept in the dark and fed horse s___....well, at least the former, anyway).
If nothing else, it's been nice to vent about it.