Best practices for dual-lifing a core module?

[David Landgren]

List,

I've recently taken over File::Path, to bring some modern goodness to 
this venerable module (and therefore allow such goodness to be 
backported to older perls). As it stands in the core, it consists of the 
files ./lib/File/Path.{pm,t}.

To turn it into a standalone CPAN distribution, it needs a manifest, a 
README, pod tests (*snort*), a Makefile.PL, test files in t/ and so 
forth. Which is fair enough, but I wonder how I sync it back with blead.

Do I just make sure that I can pull the .t file and the .pm file, 
wherever they may wind up in the distribution layout, and diff them 
against those two files in blead? I can't see the point of stuffing all 
the ancillary distribution files into the blead tarball when the .pm and 
.t will be enough. What do other people do/have other people done?

Looking for clues,
David