I would tend to agree that the lanes play a big part on how Viper plays. I have only bowled on it a few times when bowling regionals when I lived in TX. I forgot who said it, but I agree that you really need to be going up the boards at the front of the pattern. You want a ball that will get down the lanes a little to make sure that you can do this. I had my most success on this pattern throwing a particle pearl. I think something like that or a stronger hybrid cover would be good choice on this pattern. It will get through the fronts clean, but still have some bite to get through the midlane. I don't think something skip/flip would work well, as it would be hard to control the breakpoint with that.
I have found a PBAX league here that I will be joining in the fall, so I might be able to provide more insight then, or I can cry along side you, we will see, lol.
Jorge300