I found an applescript that mounts (and un-mounts) an external disk. Coupled with a launchd agent for scheduling it's an acceptable workaround until the auto-mount issue is resolved.
I found the applescript here:
http://hints.macworld.com/article.ph...20211184732735
Instructions for creating a launchd agent are here:
http://nb.nathanamy.org/2012/07/sche...using-launchd/