Neither AA by contract or policy nor DOT by rule requires a refund if one voluntarily cancels for a credit and the flight is later cancelled by AA.
In OP's situation, I would call AA and ask. Making "it doesn't make sense" or "it's not fair" arguments to front line agents is not likely to work. Simply explain what you need and ask if it can be done. Barring that, I would figure out what I wanted to rebook to and then call back and ask if that can be done (although the schedule may not be that far out yet).