I'm using Infopath as a tool to create a form for a very large firm in which is suppose to support a corporate enterprise solution. I agree that Infopath tends to be extremely buggy when it comes to formatting (amongst other things).
1) The copy atributies button (paint brush) doesn't seem to work (at all)
2) Copy and paste doesn't include orgions formating attributes
3) Copy and paste of cells doesn't work
4) Creating a multiple page A4 format seems to be an impossibility
I'm sorry to say I have yet to have found one single work around for these issues to indlude yours as well.
P.S. Hacking the xsn file seems like a wise suggestion.