Glad to see this has worked out for you. Yes the bleeding is a pain in the ass, as you say this is worsened by the inverted reservoir tube. I found that disconnecting the brake line from the caliper and sucking on it aided bleeding, but be prepared for endless jokes from passers by if doing this in a public place.
Mine to date is still working out just fine, the only issue I noticed was that my caliper was sticking, but after cleaning/greasing the pistons its now retracting correctly.
If I come up with any other El-cheapo mod's Il be sure to share them.