Power Point - Renumbering Slides In Several Places in Same PPT

Microsoft,

It is really essential that we be able to SKIP or RESTART slide numbering in
Power Point and have it increase automatically --- without having to change
each by hand for 100+ slides. Other programs like Word offer this solution
(restart numbering, etc).

I know how to change start number of slide number 1 to be different (i.e. 3
and continue on in subsequent order by an increment of 1) BUT we have to be
able to change the actual numbers of the slides - without doing so manually -
and would like to have them adjust the susequent slide numbering
automatically, sometimes several occurances in a power point presentation -
for 3 specific scenarios.

1.) Professor's lecture has some extra slides (cartoons) interspersed
throughout and they are not in the handout version. We want the numbering to
match the handouts and just be blank for the extras that only appear in the
slides that are projected on the screen -- so that students can follow along
easily.

2.) We often have different Professors with several lectures back to back
and no time to close and find and open new ppt slides so we append several
lectures together (keeping their various Master Background Layouts). BUT, we
need the page numbers in the slides to match the numbers on the handouts.
Each lecture (sometimes 4 in a row) should start from page number 1 and go up
from there...NOW when we append these only the first slide can be number 1
and when lecture two starts it is something like slide 120 and the students
are confused because it doesn't match their handouts.

3.) Finally, sometimes a Professor has to continue a lecture the next day
that a class meets. So, we'll tie the end of the previous lecture to the
front of the next so it can be finished off BUT if we do this the slide
numbering doesn't match the handouts.

The worst part about this is that I have to re-number each slide by
hand...human error can step in so automatic is better...but later on too,
when editing and updating slides for other lectures if I copy and paste
together slides ... that I manually typed numbers on ... they are all out of
order and have to be redone. The Vicious Cycle continues...

PLEASE HELP provide a solution to this dilemma -- which we encounter on a
regular basis! It would be most helpful to your users!

Thanks,
Dana