Help a new player with Gara?

Hello. New player here (or returning from 2014).

I'm working on Gara, focusing on her Splinter Storm ability.

1. Just so I understand the "combo"... you class Splinter Storm. Then, when it's about to cooldown you cast Vitrify (this resets the duration of Splinter Storm). Then you use Shattered Lash to *break* your Vitrify wall... and this increases the passive damage of your Splinter Storm?
2. It seems to take quite a bit of energy to get off the ground (more than I start with on a mission). Am I just supposed to kill things the old fashioned way until I get enough energy to start "snowballing"? I have Equilibrium... but sometimes it feels like there aren't enough badguys to kill to generate the orbs/energy needed to keep recasting Vitrify and Lash. Anything I can do to help generate more energy so I can keep the snowball going?
3. Sometimes, it seems like for no reason at all, I will cast Splinter Storm... and it immediately disappears. Like the duration just never starts. I can't seem to figure out what is causing this.
4. Is there some way to modify the UI so that the time remaining on Splinter Storm is more obvious/central? Sometimes in the moment, I miss the refresh and have to start all over again.