1. There is a display bug in the skills window when loading a save game with characters that have items that give +1 to a skill. The bonus is still applied, it's just not displayed correctly unless you re-equip the item.
I think this is the bug I'm experiencing. I learned hell spikes a while ago, now I just got a necklace with hell spikes. When I wear the necklace, shouldn't I be level 2 in hell spikes? When I load a saved game, however, it says level 1. Are you telling me that the game acts as if I have level 2 in hell spikes even though it is displaying level 1?