Glenn,
Yes I have heard this before about the researcher mode. The problem (for me at least, can't speak for Craig who started this thread) is that it doesn't solve the issue. Refer to attached figures and below step by step explanation of the problem:
1. If I leave the bounds for my slice file as per the default setting when opening smokeview, everything looks great (see "Slice1" attached).
2. Changing the bounds (for example wanting my maximum visibility bound to be 15 m) results in strange slice results (see "Slice2" attached).
3. My understanding from your post above is that, at this stage, I should try alt + r. Doing this does not solve my problem with the way my slice file is showing (see attached "Slice 3" - bounds have changed from my pre-set value to maximum 30 and minimum 0.15539).
4. Increasing the maximum bound at this stage to more than 30, eg. 30.1, makes it look ok again (see "slice4" attached).
5. Changing it to 15 ruins it as per "Slice2".
6. However, clicking shift + T does result in the slice appearance I am expecting.