Finally was able to add the search forms to each forum - I tucked them into the forum table at the last minute so as not to detract as much from the information displayed above.
I am also resetting the profile input forms (Forumosans.com). The two form method seemed to be causing problems with the preference settings. I managed to come up with a javascript/css based way to present the profile form that will all us to use ONE form (based on this blog entry from J Aaron Farr), but not be so overwhelming as we add more input fields.