I never had any problems with the save option on my FastATA on my 1200 or my 4k. Check that you have the latest drivers.
When switching between split/nosplit I always use the save button and after that I go to HdToolbox and set up my drive.
Remember to save your setup in HdToolbox after you are finished. This always works for me.
When it comes to pio mode in your setup you would have to look at the specifications of the drive you have. Normally selection pio5 would leave you with a lot og read/write errors. Check that your drive supports pio5!!
