I think it goes exactly like you said: since you have the backup, you cannt lose your data, so dont be afraid to experiment a bit ;)
You perform the hard backup, and after AS "discovers" the Axim, you connect as Guest, in order to restore the data. As soon as you restore the data, you also restore your identification data, so the next time you connect (AS should ask you to soft-reset your Axim after the restore), you will connect normally, and everything *should* go smoothly and as expected......
I have done this, and it has gone exactly like I described above. However, since right now I'm also having MAJOR difficulties with AS and/or Axim, my words are not to be trusted completely
