how can I merge or flatten this set of objects?

I have this image, which came in the form of a jpeg or similar pixelated  format, and I opened it in AI CS5 and did a live trace to vectorize it.   Unsurprisingly, it came out with a billion points.  I had to add some  "shading"--the black facets of the diamond--so I direct selected the  facets I needed and then filled them black.  Since then I've been trying  to make the whole damn thing one shape so that I can put a stroke  around only the outside of the diamond, but haven't been able to figure  out how to do it. Unfortunately, this stupid OFFICIAL Adobe Illustrator forum won't let you actually upload, you know, an Adobe Illustrator file, so here's a jpeg that will do nothing to help you understand the underlying issues.  While I definitely started out with a diamond that was mostly white, with the outline in black, it is acting as if there is a black outline base layer with some white layered on top.  I also don't know how that happened.  I understand that I could use the pen tool and redraw  this easily--that's not the point.  I'm sure that I will come across  similar problems in the future, and likely with shapes that are way more  complex than this is (and so very difficult to redraw, and too  time-consuming) so I'd like to know how to address this issue from here.   What does a guy have to do?  Thanks,

Tomas