The only viable source of phenylpropanolamine I was aware of was otc pill extraction, but all of these drugs have vanished fromt he shelves and the only ones I am aware of which are still for sale are special pet medications which require a prescription.  Is anyone aware of another source or of a posible synthesis route?

What's the wrong with you? Don't you ever take advantage of TFSE, altavista/google or rhodium.ws?

Benzaldehyde+nitroethane+triethylamine to the nitroethene,
then reducting to the alcohol with Zn/formic, for example.

Benzaldehyde+nitroethane+triethylamine to the nitroethene
To much THC there eh?    I think you meant :"to the nitroalcohol"

Follow

this

(https://www.thevespiary.org/rhodium/Rhodium/chemistry/para-fluoro-4-mar.html) procedure and omit the last two steps to get your PPA. Use regular benzaldehyde instead of the fluoroinated version of course!

Regards
Bandil