Any tip to avoid re-entering all the old comments would be welcome.
Find attached my "jalbum-settings.jap" from a project which also uses comments from "comments.properties" files. My "jalbum-settings.jap" does not contain the skin specific parts. Just make a copy of your .jap file, delete the parts with "skin." and compare them with my file. Check which values are different. Try to adapt my settings.
Good luck.