noticed that setting mapbox z-index to -1 killed all the dynamic ability of the map. so to fix the aforementioned issue with the sliding-menu-button going behind the map, I removed the z-index specification from the mapbox css, and instead gave sliding-menu-button a z-index: 9999; which resolved the issue without compromising map functionality.
Merge pull request #159 from gregburton/master

noticed that setting mapbox z-index to -1 killed all the dynamic ability...