Thanks to one and all for the suggestions, advice, and
recommendations.

To clarify things a little, we have no basement so the softener is
located in a hall closet. Within the back wall of the closet is a
plumbing manifold that provides for turn-offs for every faucet and tap
in the house. That's where the vent pipe is also located. No floor
drain. On the opposite side of the wall is the laundry room with the
usual drain that connects (properly) to the vent pipe. Since the
drain is behind the manifold and it's many connections, I'd have to
cut out the drywall in the laundry room to make any connections to the
laundry drain. Since that is still higher than the overflow tube on
the softener, I'd still be confronted with that little problem.

My wife and I discussed the matter last night and have decided to call
a plumber (to get the job done right) and just remove the softener
completely and reconnect the water line in a straight through manner
like it was before I started playing handy man. He'd also have to
plug/repair the spots where I've entered the hoses into the vent pipe.

The next owner can fend for himself as I don't want to butcher up any
more walls with trap doors and access panels. As it is, I'll have a
bit of a drywall job on my hands.

Thanks again,

Ron