I am about to head home now and don't have time to think this through completely. I will return to it later this evening. In the meantime, some reading for you:
Sections / Headers and Footers in Microsoft Word 2007-2013
The page numbers are ancillary to headers and footers. It is headers and footers you need to understand.
The following may also be of use:
Numbering Front Matter (Ribbon)