would they ever get included in the blockchain? or would they float around until someone decided to accept them into a block they've mined?

that's the same thing (1 question asked 2 different ways)

i'm going to take a complete guess: ~10 days without tx fees, ~3 days with them.

I guess it is. and the 'with them' you are refering to is with the miscule fee?

yeah, if you put a standard 0.0005 fee, they might go through in 24 hours... no guarantees though... tiny amounts are slow.