Object/Grid Relationship ...
 

Whenever I'm given CAD files (.stp) to import into Maya the objects are always a mile away from the grid, floating out in some sort of world space I'm guessing is related to the working units/space of the CAD program it was created in. Even changing my working units is only a partial fix. I need these objects to be scaled to fit my grid better. I want to be able to manipulate them a little easier. For some reason these files origin axis are not relating to any Maya type space. It makes it very difficult to move/rotate/scale. Grouping and centering pivot are not working. How can I get these objects to relate to my grid properly. I'd really like to get them zeroed out at the origin axis in world space. Right now they're zeroed out somewhere in space so I can't use my attribute editor to bring them around. Any help would really be appreciated.

Have you tried grid snapping?

Yes. It moves the geometry to a new point ... but not the Maya grid. I'm going to try deleting history, grouping, moving as close to center origin as possible and freezing transforms. I'm floundering here and will try any and all suggestions. thanks so much for your reply. This isn't one of the more interesting posts so its been hard to get replies.

the grid is really irrelevant. You already have your geometry. All of your axis information is the same.
Just turn of your grid in perspective views. The grids should be in place for every other view though.