Ok, well that was super easy……
I opened up B2.81 and in the lower left corner of the “Blender 2.81 Native Splash Screen”. There it was…….just staring at me like a hungry dog waiting to be fed. It said something to the effect of “Bring your B2.8 important stuff over to 2.81 by clicking here!”
I cannot get back to it, seeing how it was a 1 way portal and I dove right on through. But it did everything I wanted to do……and more!
I hope this helps the next traveler on their upgrade path. Everything transferred effortlessly when I clicked that little button in the lower left.
Thank you Blender Devs (a.k.a BlendGods)!