{DeleteUnused] command - erasing virtual tracks (or not)?

[shredd]

EDIT: This post was SUPPOSED to be titled "Using [CleanOut] - erasing VTrax?"...but I got confused. That happens with advancing Brain Death.

This could well have gone into Recording 101 forum, since it could apply to many-many-many Tascam/PortaStudio models going waaaaay back. But I'm on a DP now, so it's here.
I sort of stumbled on something today I wasn't expecting; wanna hear if it's "just me", or if I've discovered a function I hadn't encountered before:

I ran 2488's for over 15 years - from the first release up through the 2488neo. Loved 'em.
Now I run an O/G DP-32. Love that!

My methodology for tracking parts is usually: I set In/Out points, and do AutoPunch with Repeat enabled, so I'm making repeated takes of the same track/section, until I 'get it right' (or at least have the parts to assemble ONE good take!).
Once I do get the take I want (or assemble it out of pieces of VTrax), I wanna delete all the garbage takes that are scattered across the VTrax, to save space and avoid accidentally USING one.

What I found is that when I use [CleanOut] in the EDIT menu, it clears the active track, but does NOT remove unused VTrax.
On the one hand, this makes sense - it "CleansOut" the active track...and the machine doesn't know if I might change my mind and use those VTrax.
On the other hand - I seem to recall in all my years of 2488-use that when I'd erase/clean out a track, it took all the VTrax with it.

Any observations? Anybody notice this, using VTrax? Or am I the only musician here so talentless that it takes me countless takes, repeatedly filling all my VTrax, to get ONE good take?!?

 

[Phil Tipping]

The tutorial on virtual tracks offers a diagram (albeit speculative) showing how the virtual tracks appear to be accessed via a set of 'pointers'. These pointers are what the machine uses as the real/active tracks, and they can only be changed via the virtual tracks screen. The conclusion was that any track-related function can only ever operate on active tracks. This includes all the track edit functions, record, playback, export/import, and as you've found, delete unused.
I guess the confusion is in the meaning of the term 'unused'

The auto punch + repeat method is pretty good for hands-free operation, but other options include spreading takes across multiple tracks (easier to audition/compare afterwards), but this only works if you are recording a small number of tracks on each take, and you have a spare hand to change the armed tracks each time.
Another hands-free method is to copy/paste your guide tracks (the multiple paste option is perfect for this) so you can leave the recording running for as many takes as you need... you could make it easier to audition/compare takes afterwards by moving the takes to a set of parallel tracks.