Hi Ray,
Love the intro! The lap steel sounds great and I like your bass work too.
Read Davids comments, for me I have no problem with the melody, perfect for the song I think, it suits the rhythmic trance thing you have happening.
I actually didn't find it that long surprisingly enough, you have enough things going on to hold my attention.
Plus, I listened to LOTS of Pink Floyd and all those types of bands back in the day, and this fits right in.
I think I would end it around 7:35, with a short fade into that feedback bit.
Cool work, looking forward to seeing how this progresses.