Project fields not available on templates

We need to be able to create letter and email templates that pull fields, both standard and custom, from a project record (advanced job tracking turned on or off doesn't matter) for templates like project status update, basic work order creation (Word letter template basically), fax covers, etc.  Currently I can go to the project record, click new email (link at top of page), go to the messages tab, select Field Type drop down, and the only options are Contact, Customer, Vendor, etc. just like when I create a template from a customer record.  When I create a letter template