Thanks @hube2 for your response. Your solution of using the clone field to bring the fields into the flexible layouts works great!
My problem now is that I have over 500 live pages which use the old, bloated flexible layout field. I can rebuild them using the clone fields method but how do I get the data from the old field into the new one so I don’t have to rebuild and repopulate the whole site? Any shortcuts or tips?
Thanks for any help anyone can offer!