Could anyone tell me exactly what part of the foot to set as parent for the shoes so they won't come off when posing a figure. Can't seem to get the right part to keep them on other than stading in the default position.

If all else fails you can always lock them to stay in place.

I've never had that problem, and never needed to parent any clothes. You do want to conform them to the figure, like all clothes. Then be sure to select your character, and not the clothes, when you pose him/her.

If the shoes are from a props library, they should be parented, if they are in a figures library then they should be conformed, but they will only conform to the figure they were created for. You can parent figures though, if you want to usethe shoes on a different figure. Adjusting them can be a pain though. P4 figures do not use conforming shoes AFAIK. What I always did was pose the character with the shoes on in the default position, parent the shoe to the foot, then lock actors on the feet and toes. Once you are done posing, unlock the feet, and adjust the shoes.

Have you tried parenting the shoes to the models body? It works for me that way. :)