It's odd how these phones function, I have never had an issue using the approach I posted.
Yes it is a feature in build.prop but it also needs to be in the ROM, sometimes people remove the function or its not working, it is working in this ROM. If its not working I would say to do this
reboot into recovery wipe everything
reboot
sign in
then just leave your phone alone you cant text or do anything to break the internet connection when its trying to sync/download your stuff or it wont work.
For example if i wipe and reboot then sign in and text someone and browse the internet or somthing almost every time it never restores anything but my gmail and contacts.
BUT
if i sign in and just set it down and leave it alone while it does its thing it ALWAYS re downloads all my apps and everything..
FYI...I tried your approach x2 and got no Market restore of apps. Certainly not a critical issue but a nice to have.
Thanks,
Mike