Retaining multiple-tab terminal windows different for FBSD-4 and FBSD-5

[supraexpress at globaleyes.net]

I don't know why, but under FreeBSD-4.x (now 4.9) I am able to configure
multiple-tabbed terminal windows, exit Gnome saving session changes,
re-enter Gnome, and the size of the previously configured
multiple-tabbed terminal windows are retained.

Under FBSD-5.1/-5.2, the multiple-tabbed terminal windows are resized to
a different size after Gnome is restarted (and the current session state
is saved upon exit)?!? I DO use, however, a specific geometry setting in
the Terminal properties Command (--geometry=90x23) which works as I want
it to when I click on the Terminal icon.

I use Sawfish in place of Metacity in all of my FreeBSD Gnome
environments, but the "problem" ONLY occurs under FreeBSD-5.x. I have
compared Sawfish saved session files for FreeBSD-5.x and FreeBSD-4.x,
and they have the same syntax and structure, though specific coordinates
for terminal windows/subwindows might be different. The "problem" is
that the new Gnome session chooses a window geometry other than what I
specified, but this ONLY happens for multiple-tabbed terminal windows.

One thing that I HAVE noticed is that whenever I exit from Gnome under
FreeBSD-4 that there is a brief screen flash with the last
configured/placed terminal windows showing up where they would be if
there were maxmized, even though they were minimized when I shut down
Gnome. This does NOT happen with Gnome under FreeBSD-5.x. It almost
seems that "Gnome" is verifying the size and placement of the terminal
windows, but I suppose that this could also just be a meaningless
artifact of the Gnome termination process, even though it ONLY happens,
for me, under FBSD-4.

FWIW, "Gnome" is the same version, or at least the same major version,
in both FBSD-5 and FBSD-4, and I have seen this since FreeBSD-4.7 and
5.0.

No amount of configuration changes, upgrading, or reinstalling of user
files or applications has affected the results noted above, but for me -
it does appear to be FBSD version specific and not Gnome/sawfish
specific.