Mat:
I assume you installed 7 without otherwise upgrading to the play-for-pay version and have now migrated to the trial version of 8. (If you'd purchased 7 you'd have a free upgrade to 8, and this wouldn't be an issue for you.)
This seems to be a recurring theme: a user will install 7 as a freebie, try 8, find all the extra goodies disappear after the trial period, and become upset because they're losing what they didn't pay for in the first place.
Either MJ is a great program, worth the modest entry price (I think it is - you may feel otherwise), or it doesn't meet your needs. If the latter, I can understand why you'd look elsewhere. If the former, isn't it unrealistic to think you'd continue to get premium features and support for free?
JRiver was being ultra-generous with 7 by continuing so many of the extra features in the Basic even after the trial period expired. Maybe that was their mistake and your good fortune. But does it make sense to leave an otherwise-extraordinary program just because they're reverting to a perfectly reasonable commercial policy.
Hope you'll reconsider. It's well worth the investment.
HTH
Listening to: 'You Must Believe In Swing' from 'You Must Believe In Swing' by 'Dave McKenna' on Media Jukebox