Proof of Concept video here: https://youtu.be/81d3DUwIvKY
View at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zS9bpsQIeCvHvmS3FmGJ1toBjvGKW5McU71zoVeaZ3Y/edit?usp=sharing

So this is pretty much a version of the original manip that abuses moving in and out of spawn plates to find more favorable encounters. Notably, it allows us to run from otherwise slow fights since we have a higher concentration of good enemies. In total:

Hippie: 7
Redneck: 4
Dog: 5
Crow: 4 (1 run)
Snake: 7
Centipede: 3 (2 run)

Compare to original:
Hippie: 6
Redneck: 6
Dog: 3
Crow: 6
Snake: 6
Centipede: 4

So we save one fight, and can avoid 3 slower fights (We could fight the centipedes, but an extra turn for 1 exp/money isn't worth taking. The crow would otherwise be a 4 turn fight.) This manip also gives us encounters much faster than the other. 

Note: After the last hippie, you can grind a little more for another hippie encounter. I haven't tracked what that gives you afterwards, but you still finish the grind portion significantly faster than in the old manip. 

The graveyard portion is, from an admittedly small sample of 5 trials, pretty consistent. There's a hippie encounter to bolster your exp a little bit, and the fights are relatively safe unless something goes awry. 

Using this strat, I've gotten Pippi times more than a minute ahead of record (and my previous best Pippi time). There are zoo considerations to be had here (since we have a different hp/exp/something I guess the AI acts differently?), and this is not complete. Attempting to use this start with the current route's zoo will result in death and disappointment. With that said, it's a great start, and the necessary changes shouldn't be too drastic.