Longtime bug: Table cell strokes disappearing

Question

I was hoping this would be fixed in CS5, but apparently not.
I want a very simple table with just horizontal rules above each line. I want to set this as a cell style, so I can apply and unapply for maximum flexibility.
So this is what I want:
row 1, col 1     row 1, col 2   row 1, col 3
row 2, col 1     row 2, col 2   row 2, col 3
row 3, col 1     row 3, col 2   row 3, col 3
Here's what I do:
- I create a new table.
- I remove the ugly borders that are applied by default, and I save that as a new table style (because, apparently, I'm unable to overwrite the default style).
- I select the cells from the top row (or all rows or just one) and apply a top border of, say, 1 point. I save that as a cell style called "ruled."
- Problem is, when I try to apply this to a specific cell or row, the cell underneath loses its stroke. So if I apply the "ruled" style to row 2, col 2, the table looks like this:
row 1, col 1     row 1, col 2   row 1, col 3
row 2, col 1     row 2, col 2   row 2, col 3
row 3, col 1     row 3, col 2   row 3, col 3
When I check the cell style of row 3/col 2, the Cell Styles palette claims that it's the "ruled" style with no custom formatting. But the border says 0. When I double-check the cell style options, sure enough, it's supposed to be 1 point. So if I apply the style, it gets applied -- but, then, the cell beneath *that* one (if there is one) loses its stroke!
So every time I have to make a change, I have to apply the strokes all the way down the table.
Of course, this completely negates the advantage of having a style. If I have to manually apply and re-apply formatting for every cell, there is no point to having a style.
If I am doing this wrong, I'd love to know a solution. I've grappled with this for years, and I've always ended up abandoning styles, which should be one of the most powerful features.
As a corollary, I've occasionally tried alternating row strokes (using every line) for the table style, from which I've had mixed results. This would work in some cases, but I also sometimes want tables with only some columns ruled, like so:
row 1, col 1     row 1, col 2   row 1, col 3
row 2, col 1     row 2, col 2   row 2, col 3
row 3, col 1     row 3, col 2   row 3, col 3
I suppose I could override the cells in the non-ruled column with cell styles without rules, given that the cell styles function seems awfully good at making strokes disappear ...
Thanks for any help!

Answer 1

Yes, yes, yes! Thank you!
So I need to select top AND middle when applying the stroke, then redefine style if necessary. I guess, due to interface confusion, I was ignoring the middle stroke, thinking it was only for full table-level styling.
In the style options dialog for the Cell Styles, you don't even see a middle stroke. You only get middle strokes if you select the cell and use the stroke palette for local formatting.