Problem with 'smdimport' bone when making a ragdoll

[SavagelyRandom]

So, I've started making my first attempts into head hacks and other model hacks over the past few days, with mixed success. I've made some progress, but now I've hit a brick wall with this one problem.

I've gotten to the point where I can get a (somewhat) functioning ragdoll of the hack I want into Garry's Mod, but the problem is that parts of the model seem to go stretching off into oblivion. Here's a picture to explain what I'm talking about:

[IMG]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/9194939/example1.jpg[/IMG]

After doing some poking around (until like 2 in the frickin' morning), I think I've found out what's causing it. When I export an smd file in 3ds Max 9 (which I'm using the trial of right now), it automatically creates a new bone called "smdimport." And I found that by manipulating that bone in 3ds Max, it creates the exact same phenomenon I've been seeing in game. For some reason, it's tied to the two parts of the mesh on the model that are stretching out. Here's another pic to illustrate.

[IMG]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/9194939/example2.jpg[/IMG]

Anyway, there's no way to delete the little bugger because it just gets put back in every time I export a new SMD file. I've tried using the 'delink' option, but it doesn't seem to work as it's not actually tied to another bone, just random mesh. So, I'm wondering if any other more experienced modelers have run into this glitch and know a work-around or a fix of some sort. You'd have the thanks of a gracious noob.

[SavagelyRandom]

Okay, a bump here, with an update and clarification as to the problem I'm facing:

After doing some more exploring in 3ds Max, and some googling, I think I know why my mesh is doing this. When I hacked in the new head, hands (and now feet) for my model, it seems parts of the mesh of those components didn't get weighed to any bone. So, now they're weighed to the smdimport bone by default.

Problem is, I can't seem to figure out how to re-weigh them to a new bone. I've been googling my ass off and rummaging around in 3ds Max trying to figure out how to assign those vertices to a different bone's envelope. I can figure out how to select the offending vertices, but I can't seem to figure out how to "switch" them (for lack of a better term) to the parentage of the proper bone. Any advice?