[JRArseneau]

Maybe it's just me but this seems almost like a kludge (messy work around).

I agree though, playing with start dates... bad idea in my opinion. For me, if something is on hold, I never want to be "reminded" of it - hence why it's on hold. To me, the very definition of an action or project "on hold" is something that I have to consciously think of going back to at some point in the future.