Yeah, that harvesting drop when you change a skill has been around for a long time - I didn't think it was intentional, but since it hasn't changed maybe it is (which is a shame). On the bright side, harvesting skill goes up pretty fast.
The skills sticking is a bug that's also been around for quite a long time - it seems to happen to some and not others (I've never seen it, through almost a dozen beta chars), so presumably it's been hard for them to pin down.
Glad you managed to find a way round it, even if it's a mildly painful one.
