I've had a different problem with this kernel. I connect to the internet via a Zyxel G202 USB dongle, and with this kernel, the machine hangs with loads of trace info on bootup. The only way to start the computer is to unplug the dongle, wait until the desktop is fully loaded, then plug it in.
I've tried uninstalling wlan0 through the control centre with it unplugged, and deleting /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules and starting over (this worked a few kernel upgrades ago), to no avail.