Just to give an update, I have successfully split this off into two web2py instances: one running under Python 2.4.4 that only acts as a JSON-RPC server, and a second web2py instance running on 2.6.1 that is using the trunk version of web2py. After banging my head against a wall with regards to serializing datetime objects, I have finally got this work beautifully.
So Python 2.4 support is no longer a concern of mine. I am finally able to join the rest of the world in using modern Python versions!!! Thanks for the comments everyone! It should come as no surprise that once again, web2py has succeeded where other frameworks have failed.
