NEVERMIND! Resolved.
Instead of selecting each a for the buttons, simply selecting their id and applying the styles to it, fixes the issue!
For example:
Code:
#nav_home, #nav_home:link, #nav_home:visited {
display: block-inline;
float: left;
background: url(imgs/home_button.png);
width: 81px;
height: 28px; }

#nav_home:hover, #nav_home:active {
display: block;
float: left;
background: url(imgs/home_hover.png);
width: 81px;
height: 21px; }