-snip-
One more question, if I update my original client, could I pull them off of there?
The updated client will update the wallet file to be compatible with that version. But the wallet encryption should be the same.
Depending on the wallet's version, you may have to use an updated fork of BTCRecover.
Just make sure to save a backup of the untouched version of your wallet file, it's in Electrum's
data directory (
except for the portable version).
-snip-
That is what I have been doing, I just started going through the hex editor, hoping that I wasn't as secure as I could have been!
Unfortunately, in your case, the 'full wallet contents' is encrypted so you wont be able to find addresses to check for balance before the bruteforce attempt.