I think you're getting the table control's mode mixed up with the default cell mode. Setting the table control's mode to 'normal' will prevent the table from generating commit events --
even if you set individual cell modes to 'hot'. The 'Control Mode' setting in the Edit Table dialog is
not the default cell mode when the table is set to grid mode. It actually corresponds to setting ATTR_CTRL_MODE. You are interested in ATTR_CELL_MODE.
Leave the table in hot mode, then change the default cell mode via SetCtrlAttribute(..., ATTR_CELL_MODE, VAL_NORMAL) and you should have the behavior you expected.
Hope this helps.
Mert A.
National Instruments