Hi Tony G!
That's, ok, if you set up a task list with specific column order, but if you rename that task list, (to use it as a template) and open the renamed one the column order will be reset to the default.
Unfortunately, you can not use (as per my try and test) at this moment, and vers. 7.1.84 (Beta) the already ordered columns in a named and saved task list as a template for a new task list.
All preferences for an already opened task list is stored in the ToDoList.ini.
Question: What does it truly when Attribute Visibility Update preferences defaults is checked?