I guess in old versions of Bitcoin-Qt you had to -resync or something after copying back in wallet.dat.
I just wanted to make sure you don't have to do that now.
That was my understanding too. I'm glad to hear that only the wallet.dat file is what acts as the container for the "crown jewels" and that it is as simple as keeping that file well protected. Will test it out to confirm for myself that all works as described in this thread.
Thanks everyone for your questions/input.