I might be changing hosts here in the very near future and I'm wondering what all would be involved in moving everything over to the new host? I know that I'll just use phpMyAdmin to backup the database, but aside from that I'm not sure. Would I just ftp my "forums" directory over to my local machine and then when I get the new host set up, ftp it back over to the new "forums" directory?
Actually that is not true. You will need to edit the config file. Otherwise it will read the old paths to your website and not the new one.
Yes you will need to edit the inc/config.php file (see [wiki]Inc/config.php[/wiki] for more information about the file) if your database login/password/server are different.
Also, when you change server, first login directly to the Admin CP, and change the General Settings to fit the new server (any changed cookie settings/board URL settings).
I believe the plugins were just disabled on the upgrade to 1.2 here.