Chris,
First things first, there is no need to apologise.
You are still unclear, however.
When you say:
I really mean anything that is a change in what the learner experiences...this could mean anything! Like navigation/accessibility around the moodle site for example.
And
When you say: I know there are conditional activities in 2.5, which I would consider to be a pedagogical difference: Why is this considered a pedagogical difference? Not letting the student access stuff until you decide they can....because they completed this or that or not of course...well what exactly does that mean for L&T eh?...I am not getting that point.
And I don't understand posts that mean nothing...just posted on the hoof and that is that without any elaboration, reasoning for practice or logic! Now I will apologise for my pointed stance here.
You are quite correct when you say: the changes in file management I would consider to be administrative rather than Pedagogic. I agree with you.
You have now raised a different issue here, in terms of moving courses and that process (I see Alan has posted some very useful titbits there for you Chris). I know there is a doc somewhere, goodness knows where, about moving stuff from one LMS to another or (stuff from A to B versions)....maybe Google that too-it might be helpful.
As for which version of moodle is best for your needs, I know you can go to the Docs and find detail for each version that includes established and new additions/features, this is very helpful in terms of how you might use the tools in one version or another to aid your pedagogical practices.