Hmmm... I simply saved the final simulation as a new prop, like 3DFineries suggested in post #4. Not sure why that didn't work for you...

To make sure I really did what I thought I had done, I just reloaded the saved prop into a new scene:

Edit: thinking back, I might have Duplicated it first, and saved the duplicate.

"If I were a shadow, I know I wouldn't like to be half of what I should be."
Mr Otsuka, the old black tomcat in Kafka on the Shore (Haruki Murakami)