Hi Bruce,
Yes, I am familiar with the phenomenon you describe: the ABW mode produces noticeably (visually and measurably) deeper blacks compared to the RGB mode. The difference can be quite a lot, e.g., d-max of 2.6 versus 2.3. The underlying reasons are somewhat complex, but they involve the different screening and ink mixing algorithms used for ABW compared to RGB.
Unfortunately there is not a way to get the RGB mode to get the same density as the ABW mode -- at least, none that I'm aware of, and I've experimented quite a bit. You can increase the Color Density slider in the Paper Config section of the driver settings, but (1) this still won't improve the d-max of the RGB mode to the same level as the ABW mode, and (2) this can cause problems (sometimes severe problems) with shadow detail and ink buildup in saturated areas, esp. yellows.