Why Does Field come up as a valid search item even though it is not a field in that issue type?

unknown

The search functionality in JIRA 6.3.10 seems complex and fallible, compared to our previous version. In the previous version, if you select a specific issue type within a project, the tool would reload all the available fields you could search on that are associated to that specific issue type.

In Version 6.3.10, you need to know the specific field name to search for it, select it and filter on it. Otherwise all you get is a list of all the fields used across all of JIRA 400+ (even if they are not used in that issue type) and the drop-down choices only display a set number from the alphabetized list.

JIRA will now let you search for fields that don't even apply to the type of issue you have selected - and ultimately give you zero results. It should only let you select from fields that apply to the issue type(s) you have selected

Is there a method of configuring fields or associating them to projects, etc that would allow only those fields that are actually associated with a specific issue type to be a valid search item?

Nic Brough -Adaptavist-

Because you could drop the issue type at any point in the search editing you're doing.

If you restrict it to just the fields for the current issue type, what do you do when the user constructs a query that might start to include the field?  

Simple answer is that you have two choices - offer everything so you can be flexible, or try to work out all the valid scenarios for a query on the fly, leading to massive performance issues as soon as anyone starts using JQL.