Don, I am having a similar problem where my dimension format settings basically do the same thing: I set them (in the view map) to read 1/4" with trailing zeros (1'-0" instead of 1') as an office dimension standard we created, but they usually end up reading to the nearest 1/8" and dropping the trailing zeros when we re-open the project. When I check the dimension settings for the view and the view's settings, everything seems to be in order except that they simply aren't displaying (or plotting) correctly. Furthermore, the problem's frequency seems to vary by workstation.
We were having a similar problem with layer combinations where they kept reverting to "Custom" whenever a new view was opened. Link mentioned in another post that this can be attributed to the CadImage add-on, which creates an "archicad-master layer" layer that messed it all up and forced views to display a "custom" layer combo. I uninstalled CadImage and the problem went away. I suspect that it might be a plug-in that is causing the problem with the dimensions, but I haven't had much time to explore the issue, as I have some more serious dimension problems going on. If you have any add-ons, what are they, and try removing them temporarily....
I'll check back here once I can address my version of this problem.
best of luck
Zolli