...the way it works for me now, which is, I believe, the way it's always worked, is I must first run it to see if I need anything before "Reset Ignored Updates" "comes to life" from being grayed out.
I must not be understanding your meaning here, because AFAIK, it's not possible to launch Software Update
without it checking to see if you need anything. Launching the app immediately brings up a
Checking for new software... sheet with a status bar and a
Cancel button; hitting
Cancel quits the app.
...it's curious that you think you've ignored updates when, in fact, you haven't.
Perhaps Jack Reed isn't aware that "ignoring" an update refers to choosing the
Ignore Update... command from Software Update's
Update menu while one or more items are selected in the list of available updates. Personally, I don't bother with that procedure, but I'd certainly describe what I do with, say, Airport Utility or Front Row updates as "ignoring" them!
