Removing switcher applet from the panel looses configured number of rows of workspaces

I normally have 6 workspaces arranged in 2 rows of 3 on my (Hardy) laptop. After each reboot (or logout, I presume) the desktop starts up with one row of 6 workspaces. I don't normally keep the workspace switcher applet in the panel, so to configure it back to the way I want it, I end up having to add the applet to the anel, reconfigure the workspace preferences, and remove the applet. The window manager in use is metacity. The problem seems to be with the fact that the only place where the number of rows is stored is the gconf registry, under the switcher applet branch. This ends up getting thrown away when I remove the applet from the panel, even though the configuration information has impact on a lot more than just the applet itself. I expect gnome to remember, across session restarts, the number of rows, once it is configured even after I kill the switcher applet to save space on the panel.