Notifications Not Being Sent When Workflow is Started Conditionally

I have a workflow that I created to track changes to specific fields in a list(s). I use "hidden" or "old" fields to store the values of the fields before the changes were made and then update them after the workflow has run. The workflow is working perfectly except for one issue... If a user updates a field on an item that is not being tracked, the workflow will run and send out a blank and useless notification. To get around this, I've chosen to start the workflow conditionally so that it only runs when the tracked fields have changed (if previous value does not equal current value then start). This is also working as intended and the workflow is running to completion and logging the correct information in the history list along the way however, the notifications to the required parties do not go out. If I remove the conditions, the notifications send as intended. I'm sure there is an explanation/workaround for this but I cannot figure it out. Thanks in advance for any and all help.