Yeah the revised version is a bit better. Shorter is almost always better. I'd tame the B3 a bit. It's kinda harsh.
My advice still goes for the revised version on the key modulations. Use one modulation rather than a series of them.
Story time: Several years back, I wrote a song with another writer. The song was almost 5 minutes long. It had 4 verses, a chorus, a bridge, a really nice guitar solo and every part was, in our minds, absolutely necessary to the functioning of the song. I sent it to Nashville and they said many things but mostly "too long" ....The president of this group heard the song, loved the basic idea and suggested that I get a different singer, which I did, and that I work with one of his staff to get the song in better shape. So, working with one of his staff writers, who only gave me advice, not assistance in the writing, I started to work on the song. I cut out a verse... man that first one was the hardest. After all, in my mind, every word, every note, was necessary... then I cut another.... combined parts of those into just 2 verses. I dropped the bridge, and the guitar solo for a simple turn around. I think this song went back and forth 3 or 4 times total over a few months. It was finally finished, and got the thumbs up from the guys in Nashville. This is the final version of the song. Just about 3:40 in running time.
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12024980 With your new version, I can go along with the break now, but I would undo the series of modulations. However, if you're trying to plug this to a publisher, I would pare it down and eliminate the break as well. It's OK to have 2 versions. Your personal one and the one you send to publishers.