Limiting search results to a subdirectory

I have a basic ASP / Index Server search page. I have a web site contained in
a subdirectory in the root of a main web site. What I’m trying to do is force
the search page in the subdirectory, conduct its search ONLY in the
subdirectory, and NOT display results from the parent/root. (Note: there is
also a similar search page for the main site, in the root, which I am having
no problem excluding the subdirectory from its search results.)

Here’s what I’ve tried so far:
1. My sys admin created a totally separate catalog to point to for the search
2. Limited the vpath to the subdirectory - (#vpath *\TextOnly*)
3. Tried various combinations of 1 & 2 above
4. Publish the site to another server, then created a redirect in the
subdirectory to point to that location

The results – the search either returns results from the root and
subdirectory, or it returns “No results found”.

Is this possible to return results from a subdirectory and exclude
everything from the parent/root?

Thank you.