It is still as designed. TWS will always auto lock/designate the highest priority target.
In the end, the auto lock/designation is handy. You will want it. You can cycle contacts with 'undesignate' button. If you just want to scan, just leave at RWS.
I was very used to live with the bug where TWS wouldn't auto lock/designate and when they fixed it to the real life behavior, it was weird. But today, I would keep it 100%.
Want to lock/designate something ahead? Cursor to its vicinity> TDC pressed> TWS and soft lock will happen without losing time of fine scrolling the cursor onto a target> Hard lock it with AACQ instantly if needed.
If you have two contacts, the highest priority will soft lock while the second is scanned, cycle between both with 'undesignate'. If you want to soft lock/designate both it will relieve you the first TDC press onto the first bandit.
It is better/more efficient this way. It is also accurate to the real thing.
Czar66's post in Auto lock in TWS mode was marked as the answer