1: I have one of those Dean Markley amps too, actually. I use it as a front-end to my Marshall sometimes.

2: The bridge pickup is usually hotter (more powerful) than the neck because of that reason, but I usually prefer the bridge since it sounds a little more precise and tight than the neck pickup. I occasionally use the neck-pickup on solos but thats it.

Also, since I haven't seen your guitar (nor have you told us), maybe the Bridge pickup sounds weaker because its further away from teh strings than the neck. The closer the pickup is to the string, the more powerful it'll sound (but if you get too close the strings could hit the pickup, causing that 'ping' sound). The height can be adjusted with a screwdriver.