After you make the new Sims 3 folder, you pull the file from the new one, which should be correct, and replace the file in your old folder, then delete the new folder and put the old Sims 3 folder back to the correct name. (My Challengedata.package is currently 187 kB, for what it's worth.) If you did that, it should have worked. Hmm, have you turned off any of the packs in the menu? That might hide those badges.
But yes, if you have a new Sims 3 folder, you're playing a brand new game, as far as the game knows. So you'll get the tutorial and all. But it should be a new game with all your expansions, just 'unplayed'. That's why you pull the newly (and hopefully correctly) generated package file and copy it over to the old, renamed folder; that's where all your games and setting are. Then you delete the new folder and name the old one back to just 'The Sims 3', so youlve got the new file in your old games.
I've actually got two numbered files in my Downloads folder, one with the ChallengeData and the simport file, and the other only has ChallengeData at 1kB. Perhaps you replaced the wrong one? It's frustrating wanting to help when I can't fiddle with the computer. I'd not be a good call-in tech person, lol.
