Photoshop CS3 tries to open tif and jpgs as RAW?

Question

While the problem looks like a PS3 issue, I believe it is somehow related to LR, so I will ask here.
When I try to open some of my saved TIF and JPG files back into Photoshop CS3, it often brings the files into the Adobe Camera Raw converter instead of just opening them. The JPGs look terrible, with a huge color and tone shift. I can open the same file using "Open As" JPG and it opens fine directly into Photoshop. Same for opening problem files using the TIF extension.
I don't see a pattern to all this as maybe half of the images in a folder open directly into Photoshop using the basic OPEN command, but the other half end up trying to go through ACR. The files originated as NEF files taken with a Nikon D300.
Normally, I use the Export command in Lightroom and run my images through a preset, saving as 8bit, Adobe RGB, TIF files into a specific folder. I seldom export as a Smart Object from LR to PS, so I don't think that's the problem here. When converting my TIF files to JPGs, I run them through an action which also converts them from Adobe RGB to sRGB.
Once I've done my Photoshop edits, I usually save the TIF file, then make a few additional JPG web images while still in PS.
As far as I know, I am treating all my Photoshop images with the same workflow. I am using Windows XP, LR 2.4 and Photoshop CS3 10.0.1
Does anyone here have a suggestion to help me solve this problem?
Thanks,
M. Jackson

Answer 1

Thanks for the input. When the files try to open in ACR, I see there are two options lit up. Auto - Default
If I click Default, the colors and tones change to their correct values, so that more or less gets me opened up correctly.
However, I don't see any place to set preferences in ACR. ?????
These files are older ones that have been added to the LR catalog through the Sync Folder command.
At least now I have the workaround, but wouldn't mind changing a setting in either LR, PS, or ACR to eliminate the problem altogether.
Any additional suggestions would be appreciated.
M. Jackson