ASM hack: improved Gale Hairpin; please help

Nah, we only used free bits under Special 3 and 4.

Anyway, I actually got it working with a modified version of your initial code. I don't know why you were having an issue with the branch, but it's working fine for me.

Code:

org $C228E7
JSR $xxxx

org $C2xxxx
STA $3C44,X
LDA $11D6
LSR
BCC Exit
LDA #$0004
ORA $3C44,X
STA $3C44,X

Exit:
RTS

That'll set your bit in $3C44, so we need to test it later on.

Code:

org $C225F7
JSR $yyyy

org $C2yyyy
STA $3219,Y
LDA $3C44,Y
BIT #$04
BEQ Exit
LDA #$FF
STA $3219,Y

Exit:
RTS

I tested this out a few times and it seemed to work well, though more thorough testing is probably warranted.