Looks like my guess was right. Asus did revise the specs of the GT-BE98. They removed the third 10G port and replaced the four 1G LAN ports with 2.5G ones.Or dropping it entirely, maybe? It was always going to be a product for those who want the cutting edge, and if they have WiFi 7 gear available then 6E isn't cutting-edge anymore. They might be thinking now in terms of going straight to WiFi 7 (and you're right that the LAN ports on this were pretty lame, too).
Not really an upgrade IMHO, more like a 'side-grade' to keep up with TP-Link's BE routers which all have 2 X 10G ports (inclusive of the SFP+ combo port) and 4 X 2.5G ports. Kinda bummed by that move, was hoping three 10G ports would let me retire my 10G switch and rely entirely on the GT-BE98 for AiMesh and switching duties.