Finder insists on opening new windows when Toolbar is hidden. What gives?

I have a Finder question that's driving me crazy. I hid Finder's Toolbar (Option+Command+T) because I hate that obnoxious left pane, but now whenever I double-click a folder, it opens in a new stinkin' window in spite of "Always open folders in a new window" being unchecked in Finder's preferences. When I show the stupid toolbar again (and consequently the worthless left-hand pane), folders no longer annoyingly open in separate windows.

Can I:

1) Somehow hide/suppress the real-estate-wasting left pane without hiding Finder's Toolbar?
2) Make Finder actually follow its own rule and prevent it from opening each new folder in a new window when I've got the Toolbar hidden?

Thanks.

 

no, use the freaking sidebar and toolbar, you are making your life very difficult by shunning it. ^_^

without the toolbar you have no back button, enough said?

 

What kind of worthless response is that? Command+[ is Back (which I don't ever use, since Command+Up for up one level is almost always more suitable). Why would you "help" someone asking how to do something by telling them they don't need to do it in the first place?

I don't care one way or the other about the buttons on top of windows (as per the OP), but the left-hand sidebar is an obnoxious piece of terrifically mismanaged real estate and it needs to go. Is there really no way have new Finder locations open in the same window with the Toolbar disabled? Again, this is particularly troubling to me because my "Always open folders in a new window" Finder preference is specifically unchecked.

So far, this smells like one of OS X's "charming" deficiencies.

 

Any ideas?