OS X :: New User - Getting File Permissions

Computer: iMac 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
System: OS X 10.5.8

I used to only have one user account (user1) on my iMac, but recently I made a second one (user2) that is intended to eventually replace my original user account. (Why I did this: Photoshop CS3 was unusable with errors, and after trying every fix known to man [aside from a clean install of Leopard], the only thing that worked was to use Photoshop on a new user account ... weird, I know.)

Here is my problem: I moved all my files from /user1/ to /user2/ (e.g. - photos from /user1/Pictures/ I moved to /user2/Pictures/, and so on...). The problem is that most of these files do not have user2 listed under "Sharing and Permission" when I get information about the files (so I don't have permission to access them).

I tried this:
* Clicking on an enclosing folder and going to 'get info'
* Adding user2 and setting permissions to read & write
* Clicking the gear symbol and selecting 'apply to enclosed items...'

Didn't work; 'user2' did not get added to the user list for 'Sharing and Permissions' of the enclosed items. In the meantime, I did this:
* I noticed that every item already has the 'staff' group listed (with read only permission)
* I changed staff from 'read only' to 'read & write'
* I clicked the gear symbol and applied to enclosed items.

Now all enclosed items allow staff to read & write. This is ok for now, but I'd rather just allow 'user2' permissions when needed, instead of allowing the whole 'staff' group (whatever staff group includes... ?) Also, is there anything else I should know about transferring user accounts that I might not have thought of?