I came upon another much simpler solution - though, again, this requires a bit of typing at the command line. This solution utilizes the fact that the Nokia 770 comes up in run level 2.

Using the xterm (osso-xterm) - or better yet, ssh in using a ssh daemon - and perform these commands as root (without the prompts shown):

Now, if you know what you want to remove, then you can use the rm command. For example, consider the ssh daemon:

This will take care of it. Level 3 and up still have the automatic startup, and the script remains available in /etc/init.d. To start the ssh daemon manually, use:

...and off it goes.

This lets one keep commands available and let the system kick in right away. If you really want everything running (after cleaning out the excessive startups) just do:

...and it should start things up right. Can't say as any unknown items (included on the Nokia) would start up, but there you go.