Hi Jeff!
After making my submission to VUCC Satellite, yes it was still "a go" to get this award after the surprise fees were implemented. I was told by the local card checker that the W6RO, Queen Mary, QSL was not valid due to the fact that the grid, DM03, was not to be found anywhere on the card. After looking over the card myself again, he was correct. It had all of the QSO data and the information about the Queen mary but the DM03 grid was no where to be found.
Your card checker is incorrect, and probably confusing VUCC with DXCC and WAS in terms of the requirements of the QSL cards. Read section 7B of the VUCC rules, where you are allowed to write the grid locator in pencil on the address side of cards that do not have the grid locator on them. This is counter to the DXCC way of reviewing QSL cards, where you are not supposed to alter the card in any way. The rules appear to give some latitude with that, since it is possible a card may not have the grid locator on it.
You could go as far as trying to locate the station on a map, or a site like:
http://f6fvy.free.fr/qthLocator/fullScreen.php
to determine what grid locator(s) the station is in. If you did that, you might want to keep a printout of that, in case the card checker or ARRL wanted to question the grid(s) for that card.
Do you need another DM03 QSO in your satellite log? There are some who get on from there, or ask me in a few weeks....
73!
Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/