EDIT: I have a 9500 that is softmodable to 9700, in case there was any confusion.
Last I checked the 9500/9700 cards and the 9800 cards use a different core, so I dont see how this is possible.
I upgraded to the most recent Omega drivers and used the 9500 -> 9700 soft mod option. I uninstalled the old ones before the new. Now I find this:
http://home.comcast.net/~jdub8/omega.jpg
I have used the softmod before and everything worked fine. I recently used driver cleaner to clean out all the cruft before installing these latest drivers.