I have watched the comments and threads about GPS on the various ICS ROM's for the last several months and found out a couple of things. Hardware "may" have been changed by Samsung in the later built phones as these phones have the best GPS locking with various ICS ROM's. The older built phones (like mine) are more problematic. Some swear by the patch (see an earlier post on this thread), some by the hardware fixes ( lifting of the contact or adding solder to the contact) and some by the various ROM's. I lean toward the hardware change theory mostly. But this ROM is working for me after deep sleep. I think it interesting so much is made about GPS on the phones. They are not Garmin's. If GPS is ALL important get one. They work in some places a phone will not. I live in the Midwest and drive places where my phone looses signal. My dedicated GPS unit never does. Plus, remember the GPS did not work originally and Samsung dropped our beloved by some and hated by others phone like a hot potato. She be hard to brick, which is good for ROM junkies like us. My 2 cents worth.
You make some good points, I agree with your thoughts behind the hardware issues etc.
However, for me (and others), having functional GPS is not so much about using navigation (although it's handy if you are in a strange town on foot as the street view navigation for walking is cool), rather its about the ever increasing number of apps that mandate a good GPS signal to provide accurate locational based information. Yelp is a good example of the many.
Network location is horrible compared to a satellite lock, and it's for this reason many of us want a functional GPS lock.
I use my garmin for car trips like most people - even with working GPS on the vibrant, it's impractical to use it for long trips as the battery discharges faster than any charger can charge it! Even with fast charge, the GPS uses battery faster than it can be charged, so you will find yourself with a dead battery within an hour or so even when connected to the charger.