How do I set the default “feature image” size? That's helpful, but per the question "How do you control which image size of the "feature image" actually displays on the edit screen of Wordpress?"
How can I edit post data before it is saved? got me going in the right direction, thanks. i think you actually need to use add_action though instead of add_filter. also your wpse35931_filter_post_data and filter_handler are incongruent...