I have had good success using the Application Builder ("ArcGIS Viewer for Flex") but am ready to go a bit deeper and use the flex api. However, rather than code everything up from scratch, I'd like to be able to use my existing viewers as a starting point for further development. Specifically, I'd like to be able to crack open the compiled .swf that comes out of the AppBuilder and use Flash Builder to edit the ActionScript and .mxml components.
De-compiling the swfs is complete unnecessary are you have access to the uncompiled source code on GitHub for the Viewer. There is nothing special that App builder does but write the configuration XMLs and pushes the compiled swfs to your designated folder. It does not compile any of the code itself. The App builder Source Code has a folder that contains the Viewers compiled source code and that is what it uses to build sites for you. So the bottom line is you just need to get the ArcGIS Viewer for Flex Source code and copy the configuration XML files from your site (the main config.xml and each widget xml that you configured).
De-compiling the swfs is complete unnecessary are you have access to the uncompiled source code on GitHub for the Viewer. There is nothing special that App builder does but write the configuration XMLs and pushes the compiled swfs to your designated folder. It does not compile any of the code itself. The App builder Source Code has a folder that contains the Viewers compiled source code and that is what it uses to build sites for you. So the bottom line is you just need to get the ArcGIS Viewer for Flex Source code and copy the configuration XML files from your site (the main config.xml and each widget xml that you configured).