Good Morning Andy,
I agree with you the entire membership number should be kept. In my opinion, the main number roughly indicates when an individual joined the the club. It helps establish a degree of credibility through longevity for new members as well as though members who are not so new.

The fact one is a life member really adds nothing to the individual except maybe 1) funds were available at the time of joining to pay the freight. 2) The individual met the length requirement as established by the board at the time he/she became a life member.
So what?

Let's keep it the way it currently is.

Jim