I want to maintain the vector qualities of the elements that I created in Illustrator.
You can't. Illustrator is a vector app, Photoshop is Raster.
If you export with PATHS you might have some success, but that's the closest you're going to come to vector in PS.
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Web Goddess & Web Standards Evangelist :) - Tables Be Gone !!
Try copying what you want to export into photoshop, then paste it as a smart object in Photoshop. Then you should be able to edit that object with the path selection tool and the direct selection tool.