Okay here's the good news: The part that Bughaus sells
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will fit as a replacement for the upper steering column bearing ring. Their part number is 175419341A, list price is a whopping 95 cents.
It's worth noting that this part is not an identical replacement to the original VW one. The original VW part has a large lip in the back that completely covers the rear of the bearing. It also has a smaller lip in front that kind of 'wraps around' the front of the inner bearing race. This new part does not have the same OD on the rear, it will not cover the open race in the rear of the bearing. It also does not have the lip in the front. In addition, it is slightly longer than the original part. However, I was able to install it by lightly coating the steering shaft with grease and then pushing the entire switch housing with bearing/ring over the shaft. All of the play is gone and it is still possible to use the plastic spacer in front of the bearing and then install your steering wheel, just at the VW Gods would have it.
The bearing itself is another item that I had a hard time tracking down. I finally got the superceded part number from SKF. What you want is a 409544 DB, and it is available from Kaman Industries
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They don't stock it, and it has to be shipped from europe. It took me 6 weeks to get my hands on it, but the good news is they didn't charge me for shipping and total cost was about 7 bucks.
So, if you're a patient type you can get a new bearing and the plastic center ring for about 8 bucks. Or you can pay wolfsburg west 45 bucks. Or maybe John @ Aircooled would be so kind as to order a bunch of the bearings and rings and sell them together for less than 45 bucks :)
Chris