I meant to reply
I would've thought not having masc/fem versions of words would make it easier to learn, but maybe that's just because I'm english..
I never even remember which la/le for french words
I agree with you about different spellings and pronunciations making our language harder though, a quick easy example is:
Read, read, red
1 & 2 spelt the same, sound different, slightly different meanings
2 & 3 spelt different, sound the same, very different meanings