I have found the option that affects the output for this issue.
Application.Options.SmartCutPaste = false;
Once this option is turned off the selection does not snap to the whole word when there is a single beginning or ending space. The space is now preserved in the OpenXML output.
<w:t xml:space=”preserve”> Hello </w:t>
I believe this option changes the range object before certain actions are performed and may be the cause of other issues I have witnessed.
Thanks for your help,
Bob