If I could figure out how to set up an NEI development environment, I might be able to handle using an API better than writing it.
In furthering my goals to accomplish: Inventory-Tweaks/inventory-tweaks#404
but also just restoring old NEI functionality in general.
This is the second half of mezz/JustEnoughItems#549 where after an API for sorting is added to JEI, NEI hooks into this new API to engage the sorting defined on the sorting configuration panel.

Thanks,
IMarv

This is really old, if you have any intentions of continuing what you started please open another issue.

Once I figured out that NEI was not responsible for sorting after 1.7, focusing efforts here became moot.