That option exists in the search at the top of every page, and has done for at least six months.
no, it does not serve the same function - before (up until today) you could choose to search template modifications or plug-ins specifically (and choose to search by title or the whole message), but now that option has disappeared because those forums are not visible on the advanced search function, as mentioned earlier. As it stands now you can only choose "3.6 mods" or "3.5 mods" etc., but not the specific sub-forums (templates, plug-ins). I am just wondering why it was decided to remove those forums from the advanced search menu.
I see that the "search titles only" function is enabled, and that is helpful, but not as helpful as it was before, because the advanced search does not allow you to search the specific modification forums.