I spent way too much of my time researching the issue before decided to buy a 1520, which I've now owned for a week. My conclusion was that the swipe/tap bug had no correlation with variant. Owners of all colors and variants are experiencing it. It should also be said that there some owners that claim not to have the bug at all.
It is definitely not related to the 8.1 DP though. Most people complaining of the bug haven't installed the 8.1 DP, and many who had the bug prior to updating claim that it's still there.
I haven't come across "can't send text message" problems on these boards, or on the four Windows Phones I've owned. I think anything of that nature is isolated and more related to carrier or settings issues.