my final update...

bought the I fare TPE-HKG-JFK, no stopovers allowed though. i'm still amazed at the amount of money saved - especially considering the I fare is only ~$1000 more then the HKG-JFK H fare i was going to buy to qualify for AA miles. i am adding ~5hrs of travel time, but as I was going to take the afternoon flight to JFK anyway the extra time doesn't really matter.

thanks again for all of the help and advice!