Ah, I had read your initial post, but somehow missed your follow-ups. It is a lot like my situation actually, though the issues you were focused on were more technical, whereas mine have to do with resource allocation and putting the right people in the right jobs. More "soft skills" than anything. But it is good to know your issues were addressed. I agree it's never good to be labelled as someone who goes over someone else's head, but my manager refuses to do anything about the problems until something breaks, at which point she throws staff at it, and those people do a half-assed job just to meet the date.

My goal in this meeting is going to be to lay everything out on the table and tell my boss that the quality is suffering, and I'm scared there's going to be a meltdown. That way, it's focused on a tangible problem (which is very much a reality) and doesn't look like me begging for attention or bitching about a non-issue. Sounds like you were in the same boat, you knew there was a right and a wrong way to do things, and you went to the boss with your idea of what's right. I think since I've been a good soldier for this long, I've earned the right to get an "audience with the king." It sounds like yours yielded good results, though I do understand your point about burning some reputation in the process... I think I can live with that, my rep here only lasts as long as I stay here.