Hi Dillon,
There is a property node that allows you to extract all the global channels stored in MAX. You could save pertinent information into the channel name and then parse the name for helpful patterns. I made and attached a VI to demonstrate but it sounds like you are already doing something like this. The VI first collects all global channels that are stored in MAX, parses the names for "AI", "AO", or "DO" and puts the channels into three new arrays. The global channels take a little bit of logic to separate but can be treated as strings.
Also, you can also use the property node DAQmx Channel > General Properties to get both Channel Type and Physical Channel Name for the global channel. You could use these to "classify" your global channels and organize them into individual arrays. I hope this helps but if I'm not answering your question let me know. The VI is written in LabVIEW 7.1 with DAQmx 8.3. Thanks Dillon.
Regards,
Jeff Tipps
Applications Engineer
National Instruments