So I have a new lead I'm chasing now. Bit of a stretch, but it's better than the nothing I've had to work with so far.
The question is simple- if the software for the Canon VP 3000 is nowhere to be found, what else might be compatible? Logically, some other word processors by Canon might share enough code and hardware to make this work. The next one I'm focusing down is the StarWriter 80.
The StarWriter 80 is an 80 column typewriter replacement that (usually) features a built in Bubble Jet printer and 3.5" floppy disk drive. These were, at least according to what I've found, Canon's most popular word processors from the late 80's through the end of the word processor era in the 90's. Here's a picture of one I pulled from eBay:
While there are some obvious differences, almost all of the specialty keys are still here, making me wonder if the software might work. The downside, the software on he StarWriter 80 is on a ROM chip, not a disk. If only Canon had been doing that from the beginning...
As of now, I've had no luck finding the software or ROMs for the StarWriter 80 or it's contemporaries. It is possible though that if that information could be found, or even extracted, that it might be able to be given to the VP-3000 in some form. I guess we'll see what the future holds!