So i have this piece and i need to be able to colour different sections of the stroke around the whole piece with different colours. Also, i need to be able to change the width uniformly on sections between anchor points. I DO NOT want to use live paint as it takes away the sections of stroke i have tapered off already, however, the effect you get when using the live paint selection tool is exactly what i need 
Is there a way of doing this at all?? It seems that i should be able to do it but i'm not able to find the right button, option or combination of both.......
Help me adobe wan kenobi, you're my only hope!!!!