If your gain structure is good with the 17:1 then I would definitely try changing the internal R to a larger value.
I agree. I made the suggestion about an external resistor before finding (if I correctly interpret the statement in the specs I linked to) that the resistor value can be changed without doing soldering work on an internal pc board, and before seeing the statement that 100K is electrically acceptable.
One minor correction to your post: Inserting 73K in series with a 47K input impedance would divide the 16.8:1 ratio down to 6.6:1, not 11:1.
Regards,
-- Al