It appears that the culprit actually is calling refreshDisplay() on startup!

The known startup problem is not just one of the tiddler macro...
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/tiddlyspace/9PlBxiUVW4M/5F2627mvq4AJ

WHY IS refreshDisplay() being called on startup anyways? Perhaps only
parts of it should be deactivated rather than the entire function?

For reference, the tiddler macro problems are demonstrated here...
http://startuptransclusions.tiddlyspot.com/