Mail 4.0 lobbing iMap for Gmail

so when trying to set up my Gmail account to Mail in Snow Leopard it automatically selects iMap and not POP. In order to set up POP you actually have to first set up your Gmail account as an iMap, then change it in the settings afterward...why would they do that???

It does not.

It only initially checks to see if it can connect to the gmail servers with the user name and password you have entered. Once it does that and you click continue, whether it has connected or not, you have the option on the very next screen to choose POP from the drop down menu during the account set up.

If you choose not to change it during setup and just continue clicking continue buttons, then yes, it does auto setup gmail as an IMAP account which is probably the preferred setting for over 90% of it's users.