(I think) I've tried everything, but can't get the polygon gradient fill to fade outwards to transparent when Pattern Direction is "Buffered". It simply fades to the other color regardless of that color's transparency. If i "flip color scheme" (Format Polygon Symbol pane) it will properly fade inwards to transparent, but it appears to not recognize the transparency when flipped "outward".
The large green polies below should be fading away at their boundaries (while the smaller ones would fade more abruptly since i'm using Relative Pattern Extent).

If i change the fading color, the gradient just fades to that full color, even when it's set to transparent/no-color. Thoughts...?