I did some reading on my PCMCIA sound card (EigerLabs PCMCIA card), and it
seems that the card uses the ESS 1688 chipset.. what's even more
interesting is a section of the README about 'DMA Emulation':

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4)      DMA EMULATION
The Eiger Labs PC Stereo Sound Card version 2.2 provides DMA Emulation.
DMA Emulation supports Sound Blaster Compatibility for Windows 95 and
DOS sessions running under Windows 95.  Configuration for DOS only
requirements is still under research.  In this situation, the challenge
is providing DMA support through the PCMCIA socket.  PCMCIA 2.1 specifications
DO NOT support DMA.  Consequently, reliable execution of games and other
programs which have high demands on precise hardware DMA operations cannot
always be provided.

DMA Emulation for DOS/Windows 3.X is not currently available.
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I read this as 'DMA emulation is only needed for Sound Blaster Pro
compatibility'. Will the ESS 1688 work without a DMA channel? I know that
I used to own an ISA PnP ESS 1868, and I remember playing MSDOS games
where when you'd choose 'ESS 1688' as the sound card, it filled 'N/A' in
as the DMA channel..

Or am I completely wrong, and is this a lost cause?

Jared