We use a modified filament stretching rheometer to quantify the influence of a known controlled pre-shear history on the transient extensional viscosity of a dilute polymer solution. Two different types of pre-deformation are explored; both influence the subsequent stretching significantly, albeit in opposite ways. Small-amplitude oscillatory straining parallel to the direction of stretching enhances strain hardening and accelerates the tensile stress growth toward the steady-state value. Conversely, steady torsional shearing orthogonal to the direction of stretching retards strain hardening and results in a delayed approach to steady-state elongational flow. In both cases, the final steady-state extensional viscosity is the same as that observed with no pre-shearing. Calculations using a finitely extensible nonlinear elastic Peterlin dumbbell model qualitatively capture the trends observed in experiments, enabling interpretation of these observations in terms of the degree of polymer chain stretching imposed by the flow before extensional stretching.