Long comment O.o
I'll attempt to respond to all points in order:
Running from combat makes me leave the map thing" is not something I wanted to put in, I needed to. The issue is the enemy would just instantly bump the player again otherwise, causing the battle to restart. I'm sure there's some way around it, but I haven't found it.
Being unable to finish off enemies without clearing the entire map first is in there for a similar reason, to prevent other roaming enemies from chasing after the player while stuck in the cutscene.
As for your worry about "preferences" being shifted, I do plan to have the sexuality change entirely optional! It will be entirely possible to remain only interested in girls, or both, or just guys.