My first impression when reading your original post was (and still is) that the wheel-grip-shooting mechanism was the best way to go. I'm still not 100% about how exactly the existing shuffler works - is there any way for you to post a Youtube (or something) video? I think that'd make it easier for me to comment on your modification options.
I think your idea for flipping the cards is a good one, too, provided they're shot out of the dealer fast enough. It'll take some experimenting, particularly given variations in the playing surface (or can you control that?) and the direction the card's shooting in.
You could probably rig up something simple in an afternoon, just to play around a bit. Your test-dealer could just be manually operated while you get a feel for the mechanics of dealing a single card. Try out the spinning wheel method, see if you can aim it with consistent results, and then see if you can interfere a bit with the card to make it flip consistently, too.
Seems to me that once you've a dealer that can even just do one card, then you've got the pre-fab shuffler. Mating the two should become more apparent after you've managed to realize the dealer, so I'd focus on the mechanical properties of the dealer first.