As to your concerns about about the conservation of energy the ability to hover some 25% more weight using the same basic engine results from a difference in propulsive efficiency between propellers and jets at low speeds.
I did get that, it was a tongue-in-cheek kind of comment, maybe I should have used the obligatory smilie that comes with it
.
I was unaware of that. Having talked to the pilots of both I feel that the event you describe happened with the X32 not the X35.
Seems I got that one wrong, I got the wobble/wind issue on the last X35 flight combined with what I read about the redesign of the lift-fan post X35 mixed up with the X32 events, sorry about that.
Still I seriously doubt it would be a show stopper, keep in mind that the X32 was only a prototype, as far as I remember it didn't have the extra overhead auxiliary vent doors for the regular engine when used in hover like on the X35.
They got the Harrier working , I fail to see why the F32 wouldn't have worked out.
Overhead doors, a longer inlet ala F8 Crusader or even an emergency water injection system (for a minute or 2) are all possible (just some random ideas at the top of my head), the Boeing/P&W engineers probably know a whole lot more possible solutions.
F-35B - Lift Fan