Thank you for your help, Tim!
I flicked a PM your way. This was solved in PM so I will highlight the relevant points.
For other people with similar issue read carefully:
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The blendshape node can NOT be referenced. The file that the blendshapes are exported from must be the final stage and the blendshape should be created immediately prior to the export!
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The documentation says you need to export the base mesh(es) and the skeleton. It says you can delete the blendshape target after the node is created. These are both incorrect! You must export every blendshape target (the sculpted shapes that it blends into) along with the base mesh(es) and skeleton or it will not work.
It is true that Maya’s blend shape node functions without the geometry in the scene, however UE4 requires that geometry to exist in the exported file.
Again, thank you Tim, I know you went out of your way here and I appreciate it! That’s a relieving ending to a long day.