Sorting Categories and FAQ items

A requirement of my FAQ page is to display a sorted list of categories, and within each category, a sorted list of FAQ items.

With Version 1.4.3, I was able to accomplish this by putting numbers in front of the category names, adjusting published dates, and using these settings.
1. Category 01
– item 01
– item 02
etc.
2. Category 02
3. Category 03

When I upgraded to Version 1.5.1, my sort order no longer worked, so I had to rollback the plugin. The categories were now out of order, and the FAQ items were no longer in the correct order. I can get the categories in the correct order again with Sort by Alphabetical, but the FAQ items are also sorted alphabetically, and I need to be able to choose their order.

I also tried sorting by Menu Order, but I don’t think it works with Display Mode: Simple Accordion by Category.

Is it possible to be able to sort Categories and FAQ items within the categories while using Display Mode: Simple Accordion by Category? Or do you have any other suggestions for how I can meet my requirement?

Thanks.