Just a quick note, for what it may be worth-
I thought it might be worth a mention that I have been running a BMG-style extruder (DotBit clone actually, thanks again @csorrows for the excellent referral) and an E3D V6 / Volcano-type hot end for several months now.
All I can say about it is- wow, this to me is a winning setup for sure.
I had to travel from the original setup through multiple incarnations and variations of original/E3D/Titan/Volcano combination including Bowden variants before finally arriving here.
It has been extremely reliable so far and is hands down the most stable setup I have ever had on my printer.
I run a pancake motor too and it has never skipped or exhibited any problems.
That was not possible without having issues even on the Titan setup I had.
I speculate it is because of the double-sided drive and very light grip pressure that this extruder runs at.
The Volcano heater block helps a lot too, I'm sure.
I am so pleased with it that I recently purchased a DotBit/BMG for another printer I built and will be installing it over the holidays (but that printer runs natively in Bowden mode).
And soon I will buy a spare for the FT-5 just to have one on hand.
Everything @csorrows said about it is true.

My humble suggestion therefore to anyone who is struggling with extruder problems or who wants an upgrade over the original version is to just buy one of these, install it and be happy again. 
P.S.- I have a co-worker who recently ordered an FT-5 R2 based upon my experiences with my R1 and this forum.
I am strongly encouraging him to install one of these from day one and of course to join this excellent community.