We really had to pinch ourselves today..
After installing a custom framework at a customer site we noticed that all shortcuts were stripped from the framework. That involved some shortcuts in the datalayer and ALL objects (except for namespaces) in the presentation layer.
We checked the model.xml and found it intact (all shortcut references intact). There is nothing wrong with it when opened locally and packages can be published without a problem.
Is there a possible issue with using framework manager directly on the server? Any other suggestions where to check?
Building a new framework based on the existing model saved the day in this case.
When comparing the 2 model.xml definitions (with ultraedit text editor) it showed an 'orphaned' measure expression in one of the model querysubjects. Very vague indeed..