Here's a thought on how to fix/strengthen the backpack connector.
It will require some light surgery, but all in all, nothing radical. The idea is to glue one of those thin metal strips you can get a hobby stores (steel, aluminum, brass,etc) to the side of the connector. Since just adding the strip won't really help, you'll need to make a slot for the metal strip, so it's firmly anchored to the base of the connector. once in place some light putty, sanding and painting should hide things just fine.
Check out the below pic for a better explanation.