Hi @sweetieyou, thank you for the detailed info. in your post - very helpful.
We are in almost exactly the same situation as you were in last year. (i.e. applying from TW, with job transfer as reason for DCF-130 exceptional filing).
Qs: What email address did you use to contact AIT ? When I used the TaipeiACS@state.gov email address listed on their website and sent an email with our particulars, I just got a standard form reply back with no additional information about who to contact etc.)