Wow, such inspiring words-thanx all!
Well, I just finished the first trial run with what I believe is my answer.
Last night, the place was packed beyond belief all night, and I was in vocal heaven. I had no time to rethink anything, and the combination of the voice live touch2 and the iRig mixer seems to be the ticket for my dilemma.

All my concerns have been answered:
The vocal harmonies are top notch, again
The guitar comes through the speakers, AND triggers harmonies
The iPad plays my tracks and mp3 files with EQ available from the mixer ( internal mp3 is a tad quiet)

I can do a guitar job, and not loose the vocal harmonies or get used to a different tonal setup. The vlt2 comes with me and hangs on a stand. Easy-peasy.

I will do some recording for you all very soon. And Diki, if you think all harmonies need to be contrary lines to the lead, then it's probably best that you don't sing. Simon and Garfunkel, Phil and Don ... C'mon, man - harmony is an art form - complex, or simple. It's beautiful to create the lush complimentary tones on the fly ... And yes, the people DO notice. The trick is to spotlight the right songs, and sing within the ensemble, as a part of the group sound. I'll show you what I mean in another post.
You play chordal harmonies all night as a keyboardist ... Vocals benefit from the same treatment. If any of you think harmonizers are cheesy, gimmicky, or robotic ... Please stay away from them so my audiences can appreciate the art form in its respected state.