Default GPS and auto brightness toruble

hi all..
My GF just got the note 2 and it's having some issues with the auto brightness and GPS connection..
I've got an S3 (wanamlite rom) so I'm comparing the problems to this.

First.. the only way to get the GPS to lock is to reboot the phone first.. if the phone has been on for a while the GPS will NOT lock at all... my S3 locks in <10sec always.

second issue is the auto brightness, it fails to go into full brightness in direct sun light.. in the *#0*# option the note's lux reading is about 1/2 of my S3's always


anyone else have trouble with any of these things??