[...]Here's where I've gotten so far: I fired up the VmWare 2.0 Bootcamp, then (inside Windows XP Pro in the bootcamp VM) I went to:
Control Panel->Administrative Tools->Computer Management->System Tools->Device Manager->Network adapters
and then right-clicked on "VMware Accelerated AMD PCNet Adapter" and selected Properties. I couldn't find anything that said MAC address, so I wanted to check with you if I'm even in the right place? I found on the Advanced tab that there was a choice for "NetworkAddress" which was marked "Not Present" by default, but which had an empty field called "Value" that I could fill in. Is this where I should enter the MAC address? I wasn't sure, because it didn't have the format of "aa : bb : cc : dd : ee : ff" that MAC addresses usually have.
So what is the correct place and format to use do what you suggest (to change the Vmware virtualized network adapter MAC address to match the actual hardware MAC address)?
I guess you're waiting for me to answer the question?
Unfortunately, as I though I was clear about in a previous post, I don't actually use Fusion regularly. I tried it, but found it (just barely) unsuitable for my needs as compared to Parallels (even though I like the company much better). I have no specific information off the top of my head regarding your question.
From your description, you seem to be in the right place. The MAC address format won't always have spaces or colons; sometimes it's just the hex digits, sometimes it's the hex digits with just colons, sometimes you can enter it however you like and the software will figure it out (stripping spaces, colons, etc.).
Each network adapter, if it supports modification of the MAC address, does it differently. And VM software like Parallels and Fusion introduce another complexity, in that there may be configuration settings in the host UI that controls the MAC address (Parallels is like this).
I'm pretty sure when I was testing Fusion, I found a way to set the MAC address explicitly, but of course if you can't, yet another alternative is to change the non-virtualized Boot Camp MAC address to match whatever Fusion sets (again, that would be found somewhere in the network adapter properties, as you've already guessed).
Good luck. And don't forget to write to Microsoft and complain vociferously about their idiotic "Product Activation" "feature". Be sure to remind them how the "feature" does nothing to stop people who want to download a cracked version of Office, but it does severely impede paying customers who just want their software to work.