It depends on how you are achieving the "still provide the old way". It sounds like you are leaving the old modules directly on the search path and just doing import helpermodule
inside ourpackage. (That is, you yourself are still importing the module in the "wrong" way.) In that case here is one possibility.
\dir_on_path
helper.py
\ourpackage
__init__.py
#### helper.py
import sys
if 'testpack' in sys.modules:
print "Imported the good way"
else:
print "Imported the bad way"
####
#### __init__.py
import teststuff
####
However, note that this way of doing it leaves some awkward problems. You will not be able to do import testpack.teststuff
. Also, there remains the possibility that the person could import teststuff in both the good and bad ways, creating two separate copies in sys.modules.
If this isn't how you are "still providing the old way" please edit to clarify.