I've asked this question before and don't remember ever getting a solid answer that I can relate to... Here is the question: When using a 301 permanent redirect, a spider knows and understands that the domain name has moved permanently.... When a domain name is forwarded at the registrar "Domain Forwarding" what does the spider think, or what code does it recieve? Anyone know?
You can use the tool at SEOConsultants.com to see the header information. Type in the domain and see what gets passed back. http://www.seoconsultants.com/tools/headers.asp