'Save as PDF' splits MS-Word Sections into separate PDFs

This topic appeared on the forum less than three months ago. For some reason, it's already archived, but there's no discernible resolution. You can view the thread here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1547595&tstart=173

I'm reopening the topic because this is an issue, not a feature as suggested by one user, and it's a royal pain. Basically, The Save as PDF (or Print to PDF) function creates a separate file for each section of a Word document. This issue is not limited to varying page size nor varying page orientation from section to section. Simply having different headers and footers causes separate PDFs to be created. (God forbid you want your front matter numbered differently than the body of your document.)

Even Acrobat 8 Professional is loused up in this regard on OS 10.5.

I'm trying to print my master's thesis to PDF, and I'm growing frustrated. The Word file is loaded with cross-references, tables of contents, figures, and tables, and field codes, so trying to print to PDF from Pages or NeoOffice won't happen in this lifetime.

Apple, if you want to be really helpful, give me the option of creating a separate PDF for each section or creating one PDF for the whole document. Don't force me to use Acrobat to combine PDF files.