Hey @deeplow,
Thanks for the suggestion. However, I understand those instructions to assume access to the Internet. Is that correct? If so, then that conflicts with the current state of my installation, as described above:
In fact, I do not even know if I can connect to the Internet in this state. I have not yet tried because I have not finished my configuration, but there is a good chance that these VMs are not actually as functional as I assume, especially if they are not even mounting properly. If that is the case, then any changes I will need to do will have to be offline.
If I am able to reinstall the TemplateVMs without connecting to the Internet, perhaps with the preinstalled packages that may still be on my computer, then I can try that. I do not know how, though, and the documentation you linked does not make that clear. Last time I uninstalled the TemplateVMs (I really need to post an update to that, the instructions I gave need correction), I had to reinstall Qubes OS on a separate USB drive and rsync over the missing files because I removed the template images and had no Internet connection or VMs set up to fix it.
If you know of a way that I can do an offline reinstallation of the TemplateVMs, I will gladly give it a shot. If not, then maybe my best chance remains with mounting the TemplateVMs manually and reconfiguring them from the terminal.
Appreciating any help,
John