How do I make download manager behave the way it should?

Question

== Issue
==
I have another kind of problem with Firefox
== Description
==
When downloading a filetype that is set to "Always ask", Download Manager (DM) offers two radio-buttons and a checkbox, for "open with", "save to disk" and "always do thls", respectively.
My question regards the first. The option now reads "Open with ....[[browse]".
It used to read, and should still read, "Open with ,,, [[TheRightApplicationForThisFiletype]"
If I do click [[Browse], FF offers a list of helper applications, most of which are wildly wrong and could not handle the filetype -- such as Acrobat, or FF itself. But when I do pick the correct application from this list, now DM momentarily and finally looks like it should have looked in the first place:
"Open with ... [[MSWordWhacker]"
and upon clicking "OK", opens the file with WordWhacker.
The next time, though, we're back to [[Browse]. I've browsed enough! I feel like a sheep!
Everybody starts telling me about the Applications menu and setting it to "Always open with WordWhacker", and that's not the right answer. THAT just automatically opens the file with WordWhacker instead of offering me the options to either open or save the file. I need the "Save to disk" option every time.
In the [[browse] list of helper applications WordWhacker isn't even the first option. The first option is FireFox, and FF can't handle WordWhacker files. Neither can any of the other choices except MS WordWhacker.
My windows file associations are correct, MSWW is the only application associated with the filetype. I've tried uninstallling and reinstalling the app, no change.
One suggestion from IRC was that my profile was corrupt, so I deleted the whole folder and had FF recreate me. No difference. Downgraded to 3.5 and back to 3.6, also no difference.
The IRC guys are out of ideas. (Thanks for trying, though!)
How do I get DM to stop offering me
"Open with ...[[Browse]"
and start offering me
"Open with ... [[WordWhacker]
instead, when I click on urls for wordwhacker files?
<br/> <br/>''(Edited by Moderator: fixed brackets - c)''<br/> <br/>
== This happened
==
Every time Firefox opened
== I reinstalled WinXP
==
== Troubleshooting information
==
Not applicable
== Firefox version
==
3.6.3
== Operating system
==
Windows XP
== User Agent
==
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.2.3) Gecko/20100401 Firefox/3.6.3
== Plugins installed
==
*-Office Plugin for Netscape Navigator
*RealPlayer(tm) LiveConnect-Enabled Plug-In
*6.0.12.46
*1.9.0042.0
*BitCometAgent v1.07 for Firefox
*2.0.0048.0
*NPTURNMED
*Default Plug-in
*NPRuntime Script Plug-in Library for Java(TM) Deploy
*The QuickTime Plugin allows you to view a wide variety of multimedia content in Web pages. For more information, visit the QuickTime Web site.
*Foxit Reader Plug-In For Firefox and Netscape
*Shockwave Flash 10.0 r45
*Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) plug-in for Mozilla browsers
*Version 1.0.5, copyright 1996-2010 The VideoLAN Teamhttp://www.videolan.org/
*Next Generation Java Plug-in 1.6.0_20 for Mozilla browsers
*Adobe Acrobat Plug-In Version 5.00 for Netscape
*Npdsplay dll
*DRM Store Netscape Plugin
*DRM Netscape Network Object

Answer 1

Well, there's no help here, it seems. There is a work-around in the form of an add-on called Open Download
This adds another radio button to the dialogue, and it's labeled,
"Open with default Win32 Application". It works and does exactly that -- opens the file with the application that Windows uses for that filetype.
It doesn't, notice, say what that application IS, so you must know that yourself. And naturally, if something you install plays "swipe the file association" as so many applications do, this will change which application gets used without notice to you.
Clearly, it would be better if DM worked as outlined, and told you what application it was going to use. But this workaround solves the basic problem.