Does changing a daemon's plist file extension prevent it from being loaded?
launchctl list and sudo launchctl bstree will show you the jobs. You'll need to read up on the mach_init part as well as be aware that launchd gets more and more of the pie as you go from Tiger/Leopard/Snow Leopard/Lion - your in general question is basically "walk me through launched" - The command mdfind dashboardadvisory will search in the areas hidden by default in spotlight as system files.
@bmike
PS: post it as an answer if you want, so I mark it correct.