Well, even that native setting will still show "Breadcrumbs" rather than the full path. I guarantee it. To get the full path, you have to click on the icon at the very front of the "Breadcrumb". There will be either a little hard Drive or a little Folder at the front of the path. But you have to be careful, because sometimes it will create a shortcut to it inside of the Folder. You have to click RIGHT ON that little icon to show the non-breadcrumbed path.
I use Classic shell, I agree with your reservations about 3rd party apps. I promise that this link here:
Classic Shell - Start menu and other Windows enhancements
Is the program made by the developers and it has nothing else in it.
It's a link to SourceForge, who supplies programs like VLC. I've never been virused from Sourceforge ever. But it you type in Classic Shell into Google, you will see all kinds of download links. DO NOT use any of them, except for the link I gave.
If you don't trust it, you can ask. Windows 8 can be made to work like we want, but sometimes the only solution is to install a 3rd party app.
Many people in these forums use Classic Shell, and I use it because it was suggested to me by someone here, it was one of the first things I asked when I joined. That was about four months ago and it has never given me any problems.
If you change your mind and install it, you will immediately see it's advantages if you ever do a Search from an Explorer Window.
If you are like me at all, you will need the Explorer window to show the exact path in the address bar, so you can select it and copy it. That's why I have always hated those breadcrumbs- I do a lot of copying and moving. Topgun's solution, although it will show you where you are at, won't allow you to do copy the address into the clipboard. But if that's all you need, then it's probably the best solution for you.