Sorry guys, but the original design of the fuel selector was poorly engineered. Changing the checklist may help, but it can’t make up for a bad design. However, I can’t say that version 3 is any better. The thing that bugs me about the FAA’s AD process is that the manufacturers get off scot free for poor design and the aircraft owner winds up paying for the manufacturers’ mistakes. Piper is all too anxious for the FAA to issue an AD requiring owners to switch to the new design since they can sell the parts and not have any financial repercussions for the mess. If your car gets a recall notice, the manufacturer pays to install the new parts and you pay nothing. Aircraft builders whine that a similar system would bankrupt them. IMHO, they should at least be required to offer the parts at cost and pay for some of the mechanic’s time to install them. Cessna did that for the mechanism to prevent the pilot’s seat from slipping. Maybe not the best example, but a step in the right direction.
To your point, Larry S., the FAA is waaay to trigger happy on AD’s. For example, the cylinder AD mess that put a good after market cylinder manufacturer out of business. The FAA had almost no statistical data to indicate an AD was warranted, but they ignored the howls of protest from the public and issued it anyway.