We reduce a case of the hidden subgroup problem (HSP) in several families of finite groups of Lie type, such as SL_2(F_q), PSL_2(F_q), and PGL_2(F_q), to efficiently solvable HSPs in the affine group AGL_1(F_q). These groups act on projective space in an "almost" 3-transitive way, and we use this fact in each group to distinguish conjugates of its Borel (upper triangular) subgroup. Our observation is purely group-theoretic, and as such does not break new ground in quantum algorithms. Nonetheless, these appear to be the first positive results on the HSP in finite simple groups such as PSL_2(F_q).