Hey Otto, I finally ran portable R-studio form a USB today! I faced the same issue you described when portable R studio asked where R is. You'll have to select a subfolder, not the main folder that houses the whole portable R installation in the USB drive. Unfortunately I don't remember which sub-folder. Portable R-studio saves this info and I was not asked again to select it. But trust in me, be patient and try, you’ll find the correct one. Also, depending on the computer you’ll try to run portable...
I have the same issue, R-Studio portable (RStudioPortable_1.1.447.paf.exe) is not accepting R portable (R-Portable_3.5.0.paf.exe) installed on a USB drive (both are installed in the same drive). And I'd like to have a fully portable R, as I use computers where I can't install or maintain any app. Any help will be appreciated. Many thanks, Martin, Brazil