LOL sorry Mark!!!
No there are benefits to the program like ive said, it just sucks that it no longer displays it in your listings. You can however view the icon while in your My eBay page and some other pages but unfortunately not automically viewed.
Once you do become a powerseller ebay does give you access to the Powerseller Icon in which you can paste the html code of the icon into your listings description section and also can be pasted inside your About Me page. But as far as ebay putting it next to your ID thats a done deal unfortunately my friend!