Not trying to be too contentious here, but if you really want to be a pilot, consider carefully how you'll feel if you change your preferences and take the ACO path and then, a couple of years down the track, change your mind. There are means to remuster, but I wouldn't think it would be an easy thing to do, even if you were approved for release from your current duties, which might be hard to achieve.
This isn't to suggest that ACO isn't a legitimate and worthy career path, but you probably don't want to be a frustrated coodabeen pilot asking yourself why you didn't stick to your guns and go for your first choice.