I tried the different "section" locations but that didn't make a difference, the posts just don't "exist" with respect to the dimension tool in this view. Seems to work fine in the floor view.
I can do the manual and CAD stuff but I was hoping for live dimensions I could use to move the posts and that would move with them. So basically other than a workaround, there is no way to do this? What other structures are affected like this so I'm not frustrated trying to find a way in the future.