Is Slic3r's Bridging capability busted???

[Roxy]

I'm running Slic3r 1.1.7. I'm trying to print some multicolor pieces for a Pump-Jack for my brother (who is a recently graduated Petroleum Engineer). There are several pieces in the design that are multicolor. I have to switch filament at the right time to make it work. The Yellow lines you can see are raised above the main black part of each piece.

Statoil-Pumpjack.jpg

Now... No matter what I do, Slic3r can't bridge the lines when the color change happens. It decides to bridge the gap in the long direction. Check out the .STL and .GCODE files attached below. If you feed the .GCODE file into: http://gcode.ws/# you can see each level of the print. When it is time to change the filament and bridge the gap, Slic3r goes Brain Dead and goes the wrong direction.

I've tried re-orientating the parts when they are combined to make the .STL file. I've tried rotating the .STL file on Slic3r's print bed. It refuses to bridge the gap in the short direction!!!!

I've tried Cura and it bridges in a rational direction. But the problem with Cura is I can't control the amount filament or speed during a bridging operation. (Is that true??? That seems like such a limitation!)

Does anybody have any ideas?