diff --git a/packages/host/app/resources/file.ts b/packages/host/app/resources/file.ts
index c7f0415d72..eea0862ee6 100644
--- a/packages/host/app/resources/file.ts
+++ b/packages/host/app/resources/file.ts
@@ -334,6 +334,11 @@ class _FileResource extends Resource<Args> {
         clientRequestId?: string;
       },
     ) => {
+      // Capture before saveSource which may call resetLoader(), replacing
+      // the loader with a fresh clone that has no loaded modules.
+      let moduleWasLoaded =
+        opts?.flushLoader &&
+        this.loaderService.loader.isModuleLoaded(this._url);
       let response = await this.cardService.saveSource(
         new URL(this._url),
         content,
@@ -343,7 +348,7 @@ class _FileResource extends Resource<Args> {
           clientRequestId: opts?.clientRequestId,
         },
       );
-      if (opts?.flushLoader) {
+      if (moduleWasLoaded) {
         this.store.refreshReferencesForCodeChange('file write');
       }
       if (this.innerState.state === 'not-found') {
diff --git a/packages/host/app/services/card-service.ts b/packages/host/app/services/card-service.ts
index 8038782ba4..91c445ef69 100644
--- a/packages/host/app/services/card-service.ts
+++ b/packages/host/app/services/card-service.ts
@@ -239,7 +239,10 @@ export default class CardService extends Service {
       }
       this.subscriber?.(url, content);
 
-      if (options?.resetLoader) {
+      if (
+        options?.resetLoader &&
+        this.loaderService.loader.isModuleLoaded(url.href)
+      ) {
         this.loaderService.resetLoader();
       }
 
diff --git a/packages/host/app/services/store.ts b/packages/host/app/services/store.ts
index 2b08c526fc..e7e628ce70 100644
--- a/packages/host/app/services/store.ts
+++ b/packages/host/app/services/store.ts
@@ -1060,10 +1060,17 @@ export default class StoreService extends Service implements StoreInterface {
     }
     let invalidations = event.invalidations as string[];
 
-    if (invalidations.find((i) => hasExecutableExtension(i))) {
-      // the invalidation included code changes too. in this case we
-      // need to flush the loader so that we can pick up any updated
-      // code before re-running the card
+    if (
+      invalidations.find(
+        (i) =>
+          hasExecutableExtension(i) &&
+          this.loaderService.loader.isModuleLoaded(i),
+      )
+    ) {
+      // the invalidation included code changes to modules that are already
+      // loaded. in this case we need to flush the loader so that we can pick
+      // up the updated code before re-running the card. net-new modules that
+      // have never been loaded don't require a loader reset.
       this.loaderService.resetLoader();
       this.store.reset();
       this.reestablishReferences.perform();
diff --git a/packages/host/tests/unit/loader-test.ts b/packages/host/tests/unit/loader-test.ts
index 36decb917d..0f12048170 100644
--- a/packages/host/tests/unit/loader-test.ts
+++ b/packages/host/tests/unit/loader-test.ts
@@ -126,6 +126,9 @@ module('Unit | loader', function (hooks) {
           'foo.js': `
           export function checkImportMeta() { return import.meta.url; }
           export function myLoader() { return import.meta.loader; }
+        `,
+          'reexporter.js': `
+          export { g } from './g';
         `,
         },
       }),
@@ -254,6 +257,81 @@ module('Unit | loader', function (hooks) {
     );
   });
 
+  test('isModuleLoaded returns false for a module that has not been imported', function (assert) {
+    assert.false(
+      loader.isModuleLoaded(`${testRealmURL}a`),
+      'module a is not loaded before import',
+    );
+    assert.false(
+      loader.isModuleLoaded(`${testRealmURL}nonexistent`),
+      'nonexistent module is not loaded',
+    );
+  });
+
+  test('isModuleLoaded returns true for a module that has been imported', async function (assert) {
+    assert.false(
+      loader.isModuleLoaded(`${testRealmURL}a`),
+      'module a is not loaded before import',
+    );
+    await loader.import(`${testRealmURL}a`);
+    assert.true(
+      loader.isModuleLoaded(`${testRealmURL}a`),
+      'module a is loaded after import',
+    );
+  });
+
+  test('isModuleLoaded returns true for dependencies of an imported module', async function (assert) {
+    assert.false(
+      loader.isModuleLoaded(`${testRealmURL}b`),
+      'module b is not loaded before import',
+    );
+    assert.false(
+      loader.isModuleLoaded(`${testRealmURL}c`),
+      'module c is not loaded before import',
+    );
+    await loader.import(`${testRealmURL}a`);
+    assert.true(
+      loader.isModuleLoaded(`${testRealmURL}b`),
+      'module b is loaded as a dependency of a',
+    );
+    assert.true(
+      loader.isModuleLoaded(`${testRealmURL}c`),
+      'module c is loaded as a transitive dependency of a',
+    );
+  });
+
+  test('isModuleLoaded works with executable extensions in the URL', async function (assert) {
+    await loader.import(`${testRealmURL}person`);
+    assert.true(
+      loader.isModuleLoaded(`${testRealmURL}person`),
+      'loaded without extension',
+    );
+    assert.true(
+      loader.isModuleLoaded(`${testRealmURL}person.gts`),
+      'loaded with .gts extension',
+    );
+  });
+
+  test('isModuleLoaded returns true for a re-exported module', async function (assert) {
+    assert.false(
+      loader.isModuleLoaded(`${testRealmURL}reexporter`),
+      'reexporter is not loaded before import',
+    );
+    assert.false(
+      loader.isModuleLoaded(`${testRealmURL}g`),
+      're-exported module g is not loaded before import',
+    );
+    await loader.import(`${testRealmURL}reexporter`);
+    assert.true(
+      loader.isModuleLoaded(`${testRealmURL}reexporter`),
+      'reexporter is loaded after import',
+    );
+    assert.true(
+      loader.isModuleLoaded(`${testRealmURL}g`),
+      're-exported module g is loaded as a dependency of reexporter',
+    );
+  });
+
   test('identify preserves original module for reexports', function (assert) {
     let throwIfFetch = new Loader(async () => {
       throw new Error(
diff --git a/packages/runtime-common/loader.ts b/packages/runtime-common/loader.ts
index fab0338d91..99504a1d96 100644
--- a/packages/runtime-common/loader.ts
+++ b/packages/runtime-common/loader.ts
@@ -266,6 +266,19 @@ export class Loader {
     }
   }
 
+  isModuleLoaded(moduleIdentifier: string): boolean {
+    try {
+      moduleIdentifier = this.resolveImport(moduleIdentifier);
+      let resolvedModuleIdentifier = new URL(moduleIdentifier).href;
+      return this.getModule(resolvedModuleIdentifier) !== undefined;
+    } catch (e) {
+      if (e instanceof TypeError) {
+        return false;
+      }
+      throw e;
+    }
+  }
+
   getKnownConsumedModules(moduleIdentifier: string): string[] {
     let resolvedModuleIdentifier = this.resolveImport(moduleIdentifier);
     let knownDependencies = this.collectKnownModuleDependencies(