[Brad]

I'm not too clear how the template cache works

Check out any file in the /forums folder, you'll most likely see a line that starts with $templatesused with a bunch of template names seprated by commas.

Basicly any template called in the file that is not in this line will add a query. however sometimes its better not to add a template here if it wont be used 90% of the time because it adds a bit of overhead.