Converting from multi-line to rich text field without losing line breaks

I'd like to change the field type of an important field from multi-line to rich text. I have thousands of records with valuable data in this field, and don't want to lose existing line breaks. Despite the suggestion made in this other discussion thread, it doesn't work to simply replace "/n" with "<br>". According to QB Support, some of the line breaks are represented by "\r". And if you try substituting "\r" in a text formula, it breaks.

My intended process would be:

1. Transform existing multiline data into a new field with <br> tags using a formula like
   If(
   Contains([Description of Service], "\n"),
     SearchAndReplace([Description of Service], "\n", "<br>"),
   Contains([Description of Service], "r"),
     SearchAndReplace([Description of Service], "r", "<br>"),
   [Description of Service]
)
2. Export all records in table
3. Change field type of the original field to rich text
4. Import data into transformed field
5. Live happily every after.

Any suggestions on how to accomplish?

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Jonathan Heuer
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