Interesting information once again Jon, I kinda' wondered why the bridge dropping significant voltage (and thus dissipating significant power) didn't have an problem. That being the case, wouldn't it have been prudent to put a heatsink on the bridge?
For the full Cruise Commander you could use thermal epoxy to stick a heatsink onto the bridge between the FET's and perhaps increase the reliability of the CC that way...
I love it when a new pearl of wisdom drops into the forum, thanks!