This probably won't help at all, but I'll give it a post just for the heck of it.
I had a real issue with the fade in on the spells as well. Also, since I am stilling having trouble remembering all the new icons for my spells I was pulling my hair out. What I did was set the transparency of my spell bar to 100%. The spell bar itself does not fade in and out any more, and I find that this helps me out quite a bit. Though, again, it's a temporary solution to a bigger annoyance. I hope this helps someone.
Melosa Baenlyl
Pathfinder of Tunare
Bristlebane Server