If you right-click a table of addresses and selected Geocode Addresses, the dialog that appears has a button that opens another dialog, one that has the geocoding properties of the selected locator. You can adjust these properties and geocode the addresses. This doesn't permanently change the properties of the locator - the settings are left as before.
There is no way to make the same adjustment through the geoprocessing Geocode Addresses tool. There should be. Geocoding properites should be settable on that tool, just as they are when right-clicking a table.