I could swear I saw an option to move the gradients with a path, when you move the object or when you cut and paste a path or when you move a path. I looked through the global inkscape preferences, but I can't find it. Anyone else run across it?

The option exists as a button you can toggle on and off when you are using . It appears on the far right of the tool control bar along with a few other options. Hover your mouse over the buttons to read the tooltip.