This reply is gonna be of no help at all to you but I gotta let you know that I do EXACTLY the same thing. I have all kinds of shit stored in my drafts and a LOT of rules applied to my mail. I had a similar problem so I took my machine to my local guru who has amazed me on numerous ocassions... unfortunately, he had no clue how to recover my missing emails.
SOrry... but I'm sure there is a way.
------------------
Make $$$ the Diabolical Way