Multi-page AJAX portfolio categories do not show all items, categories

– we’re using AJAX portfolios
– sorted/categories is on
– pagination is on, 12 items per page
– around 21 items, so 2 pages

A few problems:

– if on first page, categories of items on second page are not displayed in the sorting bar
– if items from same category span both pages, clicking that category only surfaces items on current page

For now my workaround is to remove pagination and bump the item number to fit all items on a single page. But eventually we’re going to have dozens, and probably 120+, of items to sort, so this won’t scale.

Here’s our workaround page, the one the public sees for now:
http://blog.agilebits.com/1password-apps/

Here’s a demo page I created of our original design with pagination so you can experience the problem as I describe above. Try the Social Networking category—apps from that span both pages, but you’ll only see them if you click through to each page, then click the category:
http://blog.agilebits.com/test-page-23kjsdl1/

I’m sure this is a weird, complex problem, so thanks for your help!