Is there a secret to getting Path ID's and Labels to persist through saving or exporting an Inkscape file? I am trying to create a clickable map using Inkscape and paths, and I spent time creating ID's that I wanted to be used in the .svg file within a web page. But when I save or export the file, the ID's and Labels are gone and when I go back to the file within Inkscape they are all gone there as well.

How do I create ID's for my paths that will be saved so I can use them for styling in a CSS/HTML page?

That does sound strange. 

ids are part of the svg structure, and *must* be unique.

labels are part of the Inkscape namespace and *do not* have to be unique.

I can think of a couple of things. 

Are you saving to standard SVG instead of Inkscape SVG ? That would destroy labels.

Are you creating id conflicts by editing the ids directly in the Inkscape XML editor window ?

I would not use labels for further use with standard CSS/HTML.

If you want to avoid manipulating ids, ( which can break the structure of the SVG ) :

You can use your own custom attributes - the safest for use in external programs is the standard data-* format ( see mozilla )