in reply to keeping two config files in sync

What about using git's commit hooks to generate the actual config file? You can even use a templating system in them, but if the config is not too complicated, you might go without it.
لսႽ† ᥲᥒ⚪⟊Ⴙᘓᖇ Ꮅᘓᖇ⎱ Ⴙᥲ𝇋ƙᘓᖇ