hello all, let me provide a positive update:
per the insight provided to me by fellow member, 'jimintempe' (hope i got that right), this requires that you pay attention to things. for starters, one thing i didn't know and am still frustrated by, is the air cycle upon startup. no matter what i do, when i start ( i use remote start 99% of the time), it automatically begins with recycled air, even if the button indicates otherwise. i always make sure to cycle to fresh air upon startup, and try to maintain fresh air whenever possible. i only use recycled air when going through a particularly stinky stretch of land. i also never run the temperature at lowest setting only running it appx 73 degrees. driving in phoenix, the first thing you want to do is cool things down asap which means bottoming out the temps, but that really doesn't work any better than running it at 73 or so the entire time. long story short, in the last few months, this has really helped the smell go away. i'll still notice short bursts of warm air come through, but it's tolerable.
all in all, i can live with this system, but i honestly kinda hate that i have to work with it so much. just like the auto start, it's just another part of the daily driving routine. imho, the air conditioning is by far the weakest link for this vehicle. my wifes kia optima is far cooler, fans blow harder, and zero smell. anyway, i hope these instructions help. it might take a couple weeks of cycling through this way to get rid of the smell.