Need some help with saving pads... please

So I am sampling a bunch of my own guitar riffs which I want to edit, add effects, and save them for later song creations. I'm having a tough time finding info on how to get my riff from the sample editor (trimmed, effects added creating several different sounds from one riff) to a point where I can just save one riff (one pad, one sound), and then import it later into a project just like any other sample. The problem I keep having is when I assign my sample to a pad, then save pad, then try starting a new program and browse to that sound, it isn't saving exactly how it was. It saves the entire sample, not the edited one that I assigned to a pad.
Even worse, if I add effects to my edited sample that is assigned to a pad, those don't save either.
I just need to create a shit ton of riffs, edit the heck out of them, and later easily load and assign to a pad in a program.
I'm starting to think it's not possible. The only way I made it work was to save my one pad as a program.
ANY help is much appreciated. Thanks so much.

When you assign a sample to a pad in a program the original sample is unchanged, all the changes are applied specifically on the pad. This means you can assign the sample to multiple pads and each version of that same sample can sound different. This is fundamental to the way samples are used in an MPC.

In program edit, you can use the 'flatten pad' function to convert the current pad to a completely new sample which will adopt all the FX and parameter changes you applied to that pad, hence this would be as way to create a bunch of new, effected versions of your riffs that are not tied to that program. After flattening, save your project to save all the flattened samples, or select a flattened pad and go to Menu > Save > Sample.

MPC-Tutor wrote:When you assign a sample to a pad in a program the original sample is unchanged, all the changes are applied specifically on the pad. This means you can assign the sample to multiple pads and each version of that same sample can sound different. This is fundamental to the way samples are used in an MPC.

In program edit, you can use the 'flatten pad' function to convert the current pad to a completely new sample which will adopt all the FX and parameter changes you applied to that pad, hence this would be as way to create a bunch of new, effected versions of your riffs that are not tied to that program. After flattening, save your project to save all the flattened samples, or select a flattened pad and go to Menu > Save > Sample.

Got it! Flattening is key. Haven't heard that term since Photoshop. Thanks so much for your help! Works great.