I got the same problem. I'think this is a bug in 2.6.8 kernel. aic7xxx does not work even if compiled into the kernel. aic7xxx_old works fine even in 2.6.8.
I can confirm the aic7xxx problem (both compiled-in and modular) with an aic7892.
You know that there are 2 aic7xxx drivers in 2.6.8? Maybe the "old" version works for you. I would suggest to check the online help in menuconfig.
Good luck
Harri
