i have. in addition to not launching on startup, it seems to have this same issue. i like that in pentadactyl i can just start typing out the text of a link. or use a number. so im not a fan, but it can work if you insist on a major browser.
Vimium has this option. Check the box on the options screen " Use the link's name and characters for link-hint filtering"
Thanks for the tip! Probably makes more sense than typing random characters.