Remember, officials say 24-year-old Shalaya Briston plunged a kitchen knife into Pryor's chest area TWICE during an altercation at their Pittsburgh area home on Nov. 30.

Pryor claims he lost around 3.5 liters of blood and was within minutes of dying -- but thankfully, doctors were able to save him during an emergency operation.

Briston was initially charged with felony attempted homicide and felony assault -- and was facing DECADES in prison.

But Thursday, a Pennsylvania judge dismissed the more serious charge against Briston -- attempted homicide.

Unclear exactly why ... but remember, Briston's attorneys have claimed she was defending herself when she stabbed Pryor. Plus, Pryor himself has been publicly asking for mercy on her.

Briston is definitely NOT out of the woods -- the felony assault charge will move forward and that carries up to 20 years in prison (though it's unlikely she'll get anywhere close to that).

Pryor is also facing a misdemeanor simple assault charge for his role -- though that carries a much lighter sentence if convicted.

As we previously reported ... Pryor required 30 stitches in his chest and shoulder area from the attack. His attorney has said Briston's self-defense argument is BS, claiming "it was attempted murder."

The two had been dating for about a year at the time of the incident.