You're likely best off doing complete wipe in recovery before flashing it because there's been so many cummulative changes beteween the one you're on and the newer version.
Because you are for some reason using such an old ROM, a full wipe is what is recommended. You can use apps like Titnaium Backup to backup your apps, but it can sometimes cause problems. SMS Backup And Restore from Play works great for backing up SMS.
Here is a idea. take a screenshot of your screens with the apps in place. Fully wipe and reinstall the apps. Bringing backup from such a old version can introduce problems. But Titanium and MyBackup will save your apps. For call logs and sms/mms I recommend these two apps.