Is it possible to replace/change an embedded post's behavior?

Yeah this is tricky, there is metadata that needs to be nuked. You could try taking a FULL BACKUP and then:

./launcher enter app
rails c
Post.where('id in (select post_id from topic_embeds)').update_all(cook_method: 1)
TopicEmbed.destroy_all

:warning: This may work, or it may obliterate data you don’t want obliterated. If you want the “safe” way, you are going to need to recreate topics and move posts.