Desktop icons won't display on Desktop

I recently installed a couple of what seemed to be interesting menubar items (MenuStrip and Isolator). Shortly after (not concurrent with) I lost the icons that show up on the Desktop of files in the Desktop folder. The files are all intact - nothing lost, they just don't show up on the Desktop.
I've removed these two applications using AppZapper, run the new DiskWarrior 4.1.1, repaired the permissions, run repair disk from Disk Utility, reinstalled Leopard from the DVD, and now I'm at a loss on how to bring back those icons.
I'm running OS X 10.5.5 on an Intel Mac Mini. I use a Newer MiniStack as my boot drive. If I boot from the internal drive (which is virtually virgin from the day of purchase), the Desktop icons from that user are displayed as they should be.
Is there someway to "rebuild" the Desktop or otherwise bring things back to normal?
Thanks in advance,
-Tod

Added info:
I also recently tried using Path Finder 5. It also has been "shredded."
I was just poking around my Desktop and found that clicking on the Desktop itself while another app (say like Safari) is frontmost, clicking won't bring the Finder to the front. Sounds like something left over from Path Finder, though I deleted all its prefs using AppZapper.
-T

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