Hello Everyone,

I have been limping along trying to ignore this little bug until I can't ignore it any more.  I'm hoping somebody knows how to disable this "feature" from VS2005, so I can reclaim some of my prescious little sanity.

PROBLEM:
VS2005 reformats my DROPDOWNLIST LISTITEM whenever there is a VALUE="" whenever I make changes to that control in Design View. 
I want to keep that VALUE="", because it represents NULL to me.  There must be a way in VS2005 to prevent this auto-correction, but I have not been able to find it.

Before:
 

 *** Some change made in Design View ***
After:
 <asp:DropDownList ID="ddJobsite_Status" runat="server" SelectedValue='<%# Bind("jobsite_active") %>'>
     <asp:ListItem Selected="True">- Unknown -</asp:ListItem>  <--- *** Notice the missing Value="" tags
     <asp:ListItem Value="0">On-going</asp:ListItem>
     <asp:ListItem Value="1">Completed</asp:ListItem>
     <asp:ListItem Value="2">On-Hold</asp:ListItem>
 </asp:DropDownList>

STEPS TO REPRODUCE PROBLEM:
1) In a web page, add a DROPDOWNLIST control
2) In Source View add a LISTITEM with a VALUE=""
3) Switch to Design View.
4) Select the DROPDOWNLIST and change any property value other than ID
5) Switch back to HTML View and the VALUE="" is now missing.

ENVIRONMENT:

O/S: Windows XP Professional 2002 SP2
Web Browser: IE6 6.0.2900.2180.xpsp_sp2_gdr.050301-1519
Type of Application: Website Project

Programming Language: VB.NET

Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Professional
Version 8.0.50727.42  (RTM.050727-4200)
Microsoft .NET Framework
Version 2.0.50727

Security Update for Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition - ENU (KB925674)  
This Security Update is for Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition - ENU. \n
If you later install a more recent service pack, this Security Update will be uninstalled automatically. \n
For more information, visit http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925674

SQL Server Reporting Services  
Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services Designers
Version 9.00.2047.00