You really need to re-evaluate your entire project, buying loads of PCB's for an untested design that was never going to work was a bad move.
Suck it up, and start from scratch.
Easiest way is probably to use an IR Receiver IC (as used in TV's etc.), these include 38KHz (or similar) filtering, and provide a DC output based on the modulation from the transmitter.
So you just need a IR Receiver IC (such as a TFMS5360 ), an IR LED to transmit, and a small (8 pin) PIC to do it all - three parts, a couple of passive components, and a little software.
The PIC drives the LED with a number of 38KHz pulses, then checks the output from the IR receiver.
I used such a system years ago on my Cybot pages:
Back then the only 8 pins were OTP, now there are numerous FLASH based ones of much more power, so it would be easier now to build a modern version.