Ok so I've since done some more investigation. I created a new personal folder called billPFF2012 and the system created a file called billPFF2012.pst. Wonderful.

I went into Outlook and opened this new .pst folder and in Outlook it was not called billPFF2012 but Personal Folders. This would explain above why when opened brent.pst the file name that appeared was brent-pst. Somewhere another name was assigned. But still brent.pst was still 8.4GB in size.

I opened brent.pst (which opened as brent-pst) and drug and dropped all of the sub folders into my newly created Personal Folders (aka billPFF2012). Much to my pleasure, after having moved all the sub folders out of brent-pst, the new folders are 1.6GB. A properties check on Personal Folders and billPFF2012 reveal file sizes roughly the same.

What is now odd however, is even after moving all of the subfolders brent.pst is still 8.4GB.

I am hoping someone can explain to me what is going on.

Thanks.