Hi garsr1,
Been operating the SP for awhile now, I've had none of the above issues and have actually had very good support from the Italians.
You will get a few more bugs with the avionics in the SP than you will in the S model, the SP will be a lot heavier than the S model. However it's almost like they are completely different machines, with so much going on up the front of the SP. A factory course is a must.
If the S is running well and has a good payload, I wouldn't upgrade. However if the boss really wants to upgrade then I would say go for it, it's a great machine.
NiB