Hello, @Brian O’Donnell,
I understood your issue. Let me tell you how it works.
When we set the variations on the product while settings it you will see a code like “#1596” on every variation this is the order in the lower number will appear first on the product page now if you see the numbers on this image: https://postimg.cc/XZDC8RTz and then now see the variation on this image: https://postimg.cc/CdpCdqVB so that now you understand how to set the variations on the products.
OR You can try with this plugin: https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-custom-post-order/ you have to install the plugin on your site and then simply drag and drop the attributes from Products >> Attributes as per your requirements, It will impact on the frontend as well.
Regards 8Themes Team.