Merging- Delete multiple fields in Field Map

[TheodoreF]

I have a huge FGDB made up of 1000s of polygon feature classes (FC). Each FC has approx. 20 common fields found in every one, but also a an extra ID field unique to that particular FC. (ie. feature 'NT59' has a field called 'NT59_ID').

When using the merge tool I don't need these ID fields in the final output. The problem is, the Field Map section doesn't allow me to bulk delete all these unique fields... and manually deleting them all would take far too long.

So I was wondering:

1. is there a way to bulk delete fields when merging features?

2. even better, can I select the fields I want to include during the merge? (bascially question 1 but the other way round)

3. What is the best way to merge huge multi-part datasets? (assuming same geometry and common fields). Currently my merge in this instance take 1 hour for 400 FCs.

Any tips appreciated!

Cheers

[JoeBorgione]

A couple of ideas:  can you preprocess them before your merge?  That is delete the fields you don't want first?  (As I type this I already don't like it...)    What about creating an empty feature class with just the common fields you desire and then iterate an append tool?