Changing the main character would change the book! I had run into the storied struggle of an editor's point of view colliding with an author's creative vision, such as it is. I had to chew on this for quite awhile until I realized it wasn't all about me. My publisher wants to sell my books, too.
I have dug in and started back to work. All I have to do is replace good boy stuff with bad boy stuff and voila! His journey will be taking a couple of extra twists that I hadn't anticipated, but nothing insurmountable. His arrogance could even prove to be useful.
Remind me to buy a GPS unit. I've found that The Yellow Brick Road does not go in a straight line after all!