If it worked before, then it might work now if you use:
<a href="<?php echo($child->getColumnVal("link",true)); ?>"><?php echo($child->getColumnVal("name",true)); ?></a>
but I don't think it will.
A solution I've used in the past is to add an identifier to tell it to run the code in the field and eval() the code when the identifier is present.
So a simple example would be if you put the value in the database like: php:$email
Then use something like this when referring to the value:
<?php echo((strpos($child->getColumnVal("link"),"php:") === 0)?eval(substr($child->getColumnVal("link"),4)):$child->getColumnVal("link")); ?>
You could build a membership platform with eCart and paypal.