Vinnie,
I've noticed that ratings I apply to NEF images aren't retained when the image is converted to a JPG or TIFF in Nikon Capture 4. I assume this is because Capture doesn't recognise the XMP data? Because of this I tried converting a file in Lightroom to see if they were retained, but I found that if I interpolate the file using the constrain command in Lightroom the exported file from Lightroom shows as "unsupported format variant" in PM.
Make sure you have the "Add tag, color class, and rating to IPTC/XMP:" set to "For all photos" in the Files tab of the Preferences dialog. Capture 4 should preserve IPTC data even though it does not preserve XMP data.
Also, you'll need to embed IPTC data into your NEF files since Nikon's software ignores sidecar files. Make sure you check the Add embedded IPTC checkbox in the IPTC/XMP tab of the Preferences dialog. It is underneath the "For TIFF-based RAW photos:" text in the "When writing IPTC/XMP:" group.
As far as the Lightroom exported file, I would like to see a sample image. Contact me privately by clicking on my name to the left of this message. I will give you server upload information.
-Kirk
