Plug in that shows it all the time.

"Always Show Admin Bar"

But isn't is supposed to show for admins anyway regardless of the option in the forum to hide for other users? Not sure I'd want another plugin to fix what is possibly an issue with the forum hiding the admin bar for all, even the site admin.

Yes, the admin bar I think should be active for the admin at all times.
We like it to show for all since they can get confused... "where do I find my profile" etc, etc.
Having there all the time helps reduce emails.