Yes, you can export EarthLink emails to Gmail  without losing important email data by using an IMAP-based migration method. First, make sure your EarthLink account is accessible through IMAP and that your Gmail account is ready to receive the migrated messages. A reliable migration process should preserve the original folder hierarchy and email content.

For a more direct approach, the MacSonik IMAP Backup Tool can migrate emails from an IMAP-enabled account directly to Gmail. It supports transferring IMAP emails to Gmail while maintaining the original folder structure and data integrity. It can also migrate multiple mailboxes and lets you select specific folders or emails for transfer.

The tool also provides options for selective migration based on a date range and can remove duplicate emails according to criteria such as sender, recipient, subject, and body.

To avoid data loss, I recommend keeping the original EarthLink account intact until you have verified that all required emails, folders, and attachments are available in Gmail. You can also use the tool to migrate emails with attachments or exclude attachments if required.

This approach is useful when you need a controlled EarthLink-to-Gmail migration while keeping your existing email data organized.