g1smd - 8:29 pm on Jun 21, 2011 (gmt 0)

I would add the 410 status code to the real content page and continue to show that for a short while (a week or so) before removing the content. That should overcome the time lag that occurs between the 410 being added, and the page dropping out of the SERPs. That is, you should return real content while the page is still findable in search results, even if there's a "410 Gone" status in the page header.