Problem with DB.php?

I've been trying to incorporate PEAR into my system and I think I may have found some strange bug. I set DB_FETCHMODE_DEFAULT from 0 to 2. However, this little bit of code switches it to 1 so it cannot use ASSOC by default. It's in DB.php, line 619

    function fetchInto(&$arr, $fetchmode = DB_FETCHMODE_DEFAULT, $rownum=null)
    {
        /*
        ASK About This.. Why's it not keeping default?
        _EDC_
        if ($fetchmode === DB_FETCHMODE_DEFAULT) {
            print "fetchmode? $fetchmode<br>";
            $fetchmode = $this->dbh->fetchmode;
            print "after? $fetchmode<br>";
        }
        */

Any ideas? Hope everyone's doing well.. Eric Carter UC Irvine