[chrishajer]

I was able to edit that file and the option is removed when creating a new topic, and old threads will still accept replies.

Here is the change I made:

Remove lines 22 through 28:

<?php if ( is_tag() || is_front() ) : ?>

<label for="forum_id"><?php _e('Pick a section:'); ?>

<?php forum_dropdown(); ?>

</label>

<?php endif; ?>

and insert:

<input type="hidden" name="forum_id" id="forum_id" value="1" />

so that it looks like this:

<?php endif; ?>

<input type="hidden" name="forum_id" id="forum_id" value="1" />

<p class="submit">

That assumes your forum_id is 1. You can check the HTML source of your rendered page to verify the forum_id.

Making those changes worked for me. The drop down for selecting a forum to move a topic is still available for admin.