InfoPath Dev

Is there a way to make it so that when I click an item it takes me straight into Edit mode, rather than having to go through View mode first?

Probably under entering first in View mode you mean first clicking on links provided in some of (usually Title) fields of an item. 

In Sharepoint Designer 2010 click on web part in design mode and on ribbon select:

•  Options tab --> 
• press "Add/Remove Columns" 

and in appeared dialog substitute a linked field for the same field without "(linked to item...)"  in its name by clicking "<<Remove" from "Displayed firlds" list--> choosing a field in "Available fields:" list --> pressing "Add>>"

Also in SPD2010, you probably would prefer to activate for this web part the "Inline Editing"  by pressing switch-button wuth the same title

UPDATE: 

Posted this question in social.technet.microsoft.com forum whare I hope it would get attention from vendor:

• What's the diff of a field "(linked to item with edit menu)" vs. "(linked to item)"? And how to assure that clicking on a linked item opens it in editing mode?

My Self The Enemy:

UPDATE: 
Posted this question in social.technet.microsoft.com forum whare I hope it would get attention from vendor:

• What's the diff of a field "(linked to item with edit menu)" vs. "(linked to item)"? And how to assure that clicking on a linked item opens it in editing mode?

• "If you want a link that takes you directly to the edit page, you should add theEdit (link to edit item) column in the view"  

Such field inserts column with image-links even without heading, so you might want to add simultaneously a field as column without any link.

Another option I found is that you can show to a user on a webpage the Infopath Form Web Part connected to list view web part by "Get Form From" (and on a LVWP "Send Row of Data To"). Infopath form webpart receives receives Infopath form and render it in editing mode!!! 

God, here Sharepoint Server 2010's Infopath Form Services, works in mysterious (i.e. uncontrollable by humans) ways. I.e. the mode (editing, but not Display/View or New/Create) of rendering Infopath 2010 form is applied automatically (and in uncontrollable by developer, AFAIU, way) 

For this to work you should have Infopath form  generated and used/published by clicking "Modify Form" from list viewing webpage and in Infopath Designer 2010 "Quick Publish"  

 

I'll show you what I mean:

I have an Allitems.aspx list:

And as you can see, the First Name is clickable and takes me to their Infopath Form:

 But you can also see that I have to click on 'Edit Item' again to edit the item. I would rather there was a way to skip clicking on that button so all the users don't have to do it.

In your view, you could add the "Edit" column - I realize that isn't precisely what you are looking for, but it would give a one-click option to open the item in edit mode.

That sounds like a good solution to me, although I haven't seen an Edit column to add... how would I go about adding one?

That's what and how to accomplish I wrote you in my previous answers.

As well as I mentioned another option, i.e. to render a list item straight in editing mode by the side (left, righ, bottom or top, to wherever you place it) through placing Infopath form webpart by the side of your list view and connecting the Infopath form webpart by "Get Form From" and your list view by "Send Row of Data To"  
You also should produce an Infopath form for a list if you didn't it b4 (by pressing "Customize Form" while editing a web page in a browser and in opened Infopath Form Designer by pressing on ribbon File --> "Quick Publish" in opened backstage view) 

 Aqs well as I also proposed the 3d option of activating the "Inline Editing" in your list view web part

When I go into my list view to edit the view, one of the columns I can select is "Edit". The list looks like the top pic in the attached screenshot - you can see in the 2nd pic the selected column. Go into the list view to edit it and use Ctrl + F to search for Edit - it can be hard to find the column name if you have a lot of columns.