So I haven't played since July and I really don't want to lose any of my villagers. What I was thinking is time traveling a year ago from today which will only count as one day. Then time travel day to day until a villager I don't want asks to move, then yes to that villager, save and quit and time travel to today. Would that keep me from losing anyone else?
Potentially, but it really depends on whether any villager was thinking about moving. For example, if you stopped play on July 5th, but on July 1 someone wanted to move but you missed their ping, if you go "forward" one day (i.e., you go backward a year), then when you log in, you might have lost someone. Gosh, I don't know if I explained it right. But basically, there's no guarantee.
Enter as a new character. If someone is gone, they were the mover. Now, play from your last day and stop them. Or, if you don't care about them, just play as normal. If you don't remember the exact last day you played, set the clock with the 3DS menu and enter as a new character until the mover is still in your village and not inside in boxes.
You can check your activity log to see when you last played and then travel to that day. Just make sure the time is later than when you last played or it will still count as going a day forward.
I hope u come back to the thread, OP, these two guys gave you way better advice/input then I did! I especially like Ras' advice. It's a sneak peak as to what's going on in your town without the risk.
