Hi coreym, did you manage to do this, or did you get a good answer in any other forum?
Yours is an excelent description of an usual problem, but I can't find any answer to it neither in the PS documentation neither in the forums.
These are some answers I've found and that I think you can find interesting:
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fstackoverflow.com%2Fquestions%2F27391543%2Fhow-can-i-export-sales-from-prestahop-1-5-and-import-to-1-6-directly-from-data&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFTNkYQ_DAkNSAknHoXBO4J6L-h6g
https://www.shopping-cart-migration.com/shopping-cart-migration-options/253-prestashop-to-prestashop-migration
https://www.reddit.com/r/prestashop/comments/4ytais/migrate_development_to_production_setup/ (keep an eye on this thread in case a good answer is posted)
Kind regards,
j