Thats because you are all changing the wrong ini file
Hey reflected buddy good to see ya.
When steam cloud is disabled, that conf.ini inside the game folder is no longer read.
Go to My Documents / 1C SoftClub / il-2 sturmovik cliffs of dover / conf.ini alter the line in there 
happy hunting all.
Remember if you turn off Steam Cloud, its the my Docs ini, turn on steam cloud, its the ini inside main game folder,
but anyhow you cant alter the main game folder conf.ini with Steam Cloud on, cos it wipe return to default each time.