[Sesquipedalian Sam]

I have a document containing descriptions of parts. Each part section
contains a tables with a row for each sub-part. There are hundreds of
parts and each part has up to 10-15 sub-part.

I would like to number the rows in each table to use as
automatically-generated sub-part numbers.

I found several articles on the Internet that suggest using a numbered
list. One example is:

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/msoffice/?p=487

The problem with that approach is I have to manually restart the
numbering in each table, such as if I copy a table (as a template) for
a new table.

Another problem it the tab character that Word inserts after the list
number.

Is there a way to get each table to automatically restart numebring at
"1" (after the header row) and replace the tab character with a single
space?

If not, is there another way?