RJP,
Don't be afraid to exercise the congressional option. Of course some O-5 somewhere is going to be stressed over a few calls from the Hill, but that's how our government works. If a Senator, and more importantly, his staffers are willing to bat for you, go for it: its his job to help constituents stuck in executive branch clown acts. You'd be surprised how well a little pressure from the Hill can break up a bureaucratic logjam. Who cares if it upsets some AD idiot flying a desk on the AF staff? The real BS is having some arbitrary rule change derail your chances of serving this nation as an aviator. Also, its highly unlikely that word about you calling your elected representative would follow you to UPT.
That being said, you must keep your Guard OG and Wing CC in the loop so they are not blind-sided. You certainly need their strong support to make this work.
Private message me if you want to talk more details.
Good luck, flying fighters is worth the fight. (I'm a guard viper guy)
-H