I don't know the specifics of what Jimmy found out, but if it starts to come down to the wire, you might consider walking your permit through. Not sure if you'd be able to do so with the reinstatement thing, but the first time I got my permit as an apprentice, and when I upgraded to general, I walked it through both times and everyone was very accommodating. It's a good deal of driving between where you live, Social Circle, and Atlanta (and back to Social Circle), but it got it done for me. Of course, this was a couple/few years ago when I upgraded, and as Jimmy said, things have changed. Might be something you could inquire about though.