Ok, you are not the only one that has been providing that same advice. I would be more comfortable if it were a little more explicitly stated in the IRS instructions. Given you have had positive personal experience handling it this way, I will go ahead and file as is. Given that I"m filing a paper return anyway, I will include a note indicating the return of excess contributions prior to the filing deadline. Thanks for all your feedback. I will try and post a follow up to this thread when I know how it works out.
