OK. I have tried several diffrerent *.3ds files that use textures and one out of four worked properly using the 3ds import plugin.
The one model that worked had the materials show up in the HyperShade so all I had to do was relink the texture file on the color node. The texture mapping was still intact as well so it looked fine. But the majority of *.3ds models I get off the web or buy (DeEspona) do not come through cleanly through the 3ds plugin. Some of the models are fragmented like an exploded illustration. I have heard that there is no plugin or feature of Maya 4.5 that automagically imports Max files into Maya. Shame.

I guess the only way to get complete 3ds models into Maya is to take out a loan and buy the Polytrans utility and THEN pay for the additional Polytrans-to-Maya plugin!$$$$$$