Alright, thank you. I am now favoring the MCU + small FPGA approach.
For each of the 8 "timers" I wish to add, I will need 1x 24-bit counter, 1x 12-bit counter, a way to stop the 24-bit counter when the 12-bit counter reaches a certain value. The 24-bit timer/counter will operate at up to 24Mhz. To me, this seems like very little hardware. What hardware would you suggest I use to implement this, based on easy entry and accessible software tools? It would be great if I didn't need to incorporate some BGA monstrosity into my layout, but I can deal with that if needed. Some sort of QFP part would be ideal. Something that is available on reasonably priced dev board is mandatory. Is 3.3V I/O available in FPGAs or do I need to level-shift everything? This project is in it's infancy, so proof of concept is the goal right now.
Thanks again for your time.