Reflecting on this part of the solution, I'm not sure it adds much value to provide markup somewhere on the visible page that can trigger the hover chrome.  Authorized users can already access the portlet in CONFIG mode by either (1) using the Portlet Manager, or (2) following a link (which can be added to the Portal Manager or used in a SimpleCMS) that has the mode=CONFIG parameterized in it.

Besides, the view mode of this portlet is a great candidate for using the RENDER_HEADERS subphase or (at least) placing in the page-top region.