Problem with Pick Up Object and bullet formatting in PowerPoint 20

In PowerPoint 2003, the most useful feature was the Pick Up Object dropper
and the ability to create customised bullets eg a dash instead of a dot for
sub bullet indentations (like the standard text bullets that is shown in the
standard master template) and the ability to change the level of indentation.

It was then possible to use the Pick Up Object dropper to swiftly
standardise bullets across the presentation.

However this appears lost in PowerPoint 2007, the dropper does not pick up
bullet or paragraph styles, only formatting, and there seems no way to change
the default indented buttons.

Even if you copy the bullet box from the master template (which has dashes
as the sub bullets) and start writing in it, and ‘carriage return and tab’ it
doesn't indent with dashes as it appears on the Slide master. I.e. the Slide
master bullets are totally irrelevant.

Please, please tell me there is a way around this and the functionality has
not been lost! Office 2007 is frustrating enough as it is without removing
key functionality.