Your newer car has what's called a "two stage locking system" and there should be details in your owners manual about it. Basically, it's done for security in that if you're in a parking lot (example) and you only want the drivers door unlocked so that someone else undesireable tryed getting into one of the other doors, they couldn't. I know.....what are the odds? but that's the story I was once told.

I'm not sure about the RF door locks functions in '97 as I think it changed in time depending on the year. The newer cars eliminated an outside RF door key lock and only have two (LF and truck, sedan).