hello!

I have this question and i wonder if you could help me solve it.

I'm using Soundcraft 10 to record basically 2 channels (one for vocal, one for instruments)into Adobe Audition 2.0 and Steinberg Cubase SX3 through an M-Audio Delta 410 PCI interface.

I would wanna record those 2 signals simultaneously but separately so that i could edit the vocal the way i want. The thing is this Soundcraft 10 has only a pair of REC-OUTs and the soundcard has only a pair of INPUTs (L+R).

Right now i am able to record those 2 channels the way i wanted by panning the vocal input source to L and the instrument input source to R or vice versa. And of course, i know all i got is MONO instead of being STEREO (but i can treat this problem with plugin effects though).

My question is: since i don't wanna upgrade to another mixer or soundcard, is there anyway i can get 2 channels recorded simultaneously but separately without having to pan them to L or R?
Is the MONO (after being treated as stereo) as good as the TRUE STEREO?

I don't have a lot of knowledge about audio engineering, so please teach me more.
Any advice or suggestion will be a great help to me.

Many thanks in advance.