> yes we should be able to run firefox without tabs like it's surf

Can't you? You used to be able to show the tab bar only when there was more than one tab; I guess that has disappeared?

You can do this: Put this code into your userChrome.css file:

#tabbrowser-tabs .tabbrowser-tab:only-of-type, #tabbrowser-tabs .tabbrowser-tab:only-of-type + #tabbrowser-arrowscrollbox-periphery { display: none !important; }

#tabbrowser-tabs, #tabbrowser-arrowscrollbox { min-height: 0 !important; }