I tend to prefer salaried to hourly. There's a lot of fuckery that can go on with hourly positions if they ever hit financial straights where you could find your "salary" reduced by 25%. Bonuses and overtime aren't guaranteed. Depending on the type of job, it can also cause problems if you need to put in a little extra time to fix a fuckup you did - there are times I've been salaried and really thankful I didn't have to explain exactly what I was doing hour to hour.

I would be a bit concerned about taking a promotion at a similar pay to a lower position. I would assume the promotion means more work. It will also be that much harder to make more money in the future - since there is one less rung on the ladder to climb up. The other place might give you the ability to work your way up. Also, you threatened to leave to get the promotion - if this was done eagerly, it could show you were valued... but if it was begrudgingly, you might not be in good standing anymore - so read the room. I would question either way why this position wasn't made available earlier to you - you know, before you thought about leaving.

In the end though, I think it comes down to what you think of the job. After all, if you like the people or work style or job or company more - you are probably going to be more successful at the job - and that will translate to more money down the road.