Bridge Theme Powweb PHP Mismatch

I bought the Bridge theme in Nov 20 but couldn’t start working on it until this month. I have Powweb for hosting. Php.ini file and .htaccess file both verified to have max_input_vars = 5000 but bridge dashboard insists it is set at 1000. I verified with the developer AND the host that the max_input_vars was set correctly and developer told me to just ignore the error. But the error is preventing me from importing the demo site I want to use to move forward. Does anyone else use Powweb and Bridge? Any advice? I am about to dump it and go with some other theme because I cannot move forward. Yes I contacted support and they advised me to update my .htaccess file like they did when I first brought the problem to their attention and they then told me to ignore the error. :confused: