I'm not sure if my issue is the same, but if other .plist parameters can be modified in order to get what I'm looking for, I'll give it a shot. I have my folders organized by my major projects. Often when I am searching, I know exactly which folder has what I am looking for, and I just need to find the correct file in "that" particular folder. Under Tiger, using the search-field in the upper-right corner of an open finder window, if I entered the given search term in that search-field, the Finder would automatically default to starting the search (search-target) in "that" folder. Under Leopard, the default search-target is "This Mac". Question: what do I need to modify in this (or another) .plist file, such that all of my search-targets default to the folder that I am currently in, vs. "This Mac"?

Yea, sounds like you want it to behave the same way as I do.