Fwiw, I personally feel like 45/185 is entirely too lean for a 10 to 1 evo motor, you should have a 48-50/195-200 and a needle, a little fuel will bring the combustion temp down. Check the voes and I would even do a compression check, make sure you didn't knock a ring land off,

 

out of curiosity, what would you run on a mikuni (my fueling is REAL damned close, if not perfect....trying to figure out the timing on my rig)

 

If it wouldn't run on real 107, then compression ratio certainly isn't your problem. I would highly recommend however that you run 60 weight oil for your next trip through the desert. I live in the lower Midwest and run straight 50W all year except July and August I'll switch to straight 60W, which is what HD recommends for our '90 models.
I stripped my bike in a weekend, but it took me a little while to collect all the aftermarket and stock parts that I wanted to add. The license plate bracket was hard to find. But when I saw mine appear on eBay with a BIN option, I didn't hesitate. Many here have tried to find them and failed. They only came on the FLHS, so they are rare.
I do use a tour pack on longer rides with the wife unit. Mine didn't have one when I bought it. I got an old one from a shovelhead bike because I hate all the Christmas tree lights on the Electra Glides. And then I cut out the side marker light depressions and filled them with fiberglass. So my tour pack has no lights whatsoever. Hopefully I'll get it painted this winter.
As for your switch, if it's bad, you can get them nearly anywhere they sell HD parts. I find my HD dealership has nearly competitive prices on stuff like that, and I don't have to pay shipping or wait for it.
I too am betting that VOES is bad. I bet the diaphragm was weak to begin with and over heating and hard running didn't help it a bit. A bad VOES would explain nearly every symptom you have.

 

Depends on the bike, a good baseline is 27.5 pilot, 165 main and the middle squirter with .080 on the pump ARM,

 

ha, very close. 27.5 pilot, 167.5main, -98 needle (leaner) on 2nd clip slot (might go to 3rd to boost midrange fueling just a touch). gotta doublecheck the accelerator pump...think it comes in a bit sooner than .080"

 

Either the OEM or the aftermarket will work just fine. Price is about the same either place. Dealer doesn't charge shipping, but does charge sales tax. J&P doesn't charge tax (here), and got the switch to me 4 days sooner. Your call.

Changing/testing the VOES is a matter of getting at it. You can see it up under the tank behind the carb, between the cylinders. I removed the fuel tanks on my Softail, and you'll probably have to do the same. Disconnect the vacuum line from the carb, and unplug the two wires. The switch is held on to a bracket (or in my case, the top motor mount) by a push fastener. It may be easier to remove the bracket and deal with the push fastener on the workbench (it was for me).

You can test the switch with a vacuum pump and an ohmmeter. The service manual will give you the exact specification for how many inches of mercury it should take to open the switch.

 

Hook up the VOES, all street bikes that have the ability to run the VOES should, so set the switches to reflect that. The VOES retards the timing under high load/low vacuum conditions thereby decreasing the chances of detonation. Fuel...Do you get your fuel from a station that has one hose or three??? One hose gets you a gallon or more of whaever was pumped last. This is usually 89 octane. When this mixes with the 91/93 that you are probably paying for you end up with 90/91 octane gas with ethanol in it so it makes detonation easier. When you hook up a functioning VOES and make sure you have the best gas possible you will be able to go to setting 3 or even 2 on your ignition. Also if you have a smart phone you can get an app called "pure gas" that will tell you where the neares gas station is that has non-ethanol gas. Hope this helps.

P.S. You should probably do a compression and leak down tes as the high heat can cook the rings or cylinders allowing small amounts of oil to dilute the mixture lowering the octane rating leading to detonation.
John