It's more likely than you think!
Long story short, I did some poking around and found a tiny program that can, among other things, index tga files. I included a batch file so you guys don't have to poke around the fifty-some-odd switches this program has.
It's this easy:
Step 1: Download
this and extract it somewhere near where you do your texture work.
Step 2: Edit your +1 or +2 file normally with Paint.NET. When working with +2, remember to replace everything you want to be transparent with Magic Pink (
255,
0,
255). Save it as 32-bit uncompressed.
Step 3: Copy your +1 or +2 file to the directory containing PVW32Con.exe and index.bat. Run index.bat. When prompted, type the filename of your +1 or +2 tga file and press Enter.
Step 4: When it's finished, copy the +1 or +2 file back to where it came from, overwriting the original.
Hurray, you're done! Just don't save it in P.N again after you do this, or you'll lose the palette.
And yes, Fair Norfair V2 is not far away. :D