change in launcher behavior from FC3 to FC4

[Dave Perry <skidavem mindspring com>]

I just did an upgrade install of FC4 over FC3 on my Dell Latitude 
notebook.  I can add launchers for programs that I installed from RPMs 
and they work.  But if I add a launcer for a program that I compiled 
(./configure && make && Make install), the launcer dos not work.  I 
select "Run in terminal" and the terminal window flashes for a fraction 
of a second and the app dies.  Same exact response if I use "Run 
Application".  The particular app is "fgrun", a gui front end for 
FlightGear.  If I just type "fgrun" in a terminal, the app launhces, but 
the launcher does not work whether I put it in a pannel or on the 
desktop.  This worked fine under FC3 on the same notebook.  I just tried 
several other non RPM compiled apps and got the same results.  Any ideas 
what changed from FC3 to FC4 that could cause this?  Yes, I updated FC4 
with a very lengthy "yum update".

Thanks in advance for any help.
Dave P.