Thank you for your replies guys!  

Nerd: I figured there was going to be a lot of redirecting in the cr2 and it wouldn't be easy, thanks for confirming that :-)

I usually use phi builder to initial rig the figures, then joint editor them.  I wound up fixing the phi file to re-parent the part, ran the new phi file, then copied the joint rotations from the original to the new figure. Worked like a charm with minimal effort.

Thanks again for your replies.

Cheers,

Davo