Not sure if this is the answer you are looking for, but when you are in InfoPath (2007), click Tools, Form Options. Then click versioning. There is an drop down box next to "On version upgrade". The options are "Automatically upgrade existing forms", "Do nothing (existing forms might not work properly)", and "Use Custom Event".
You might try selecting the do nothing option, re-publish the template and see if the previous forms error.
Melissa