The <<list-links>> *macro* can be used to quickly display filter results, one per line, with bullets.
The <$links> *widget* is the underlying mechanism that the <<list-link>> macro uses.
When used without a matching </$list> (i.e, by using a closing "/>" in the "<$list .../>" syntax), it simply outputs the matching tiddler titles, without any other special formatting. This is as intended. To output the <$list> results with desired formatting, you must specify the output format *inside* of <$list>...</$list>, like this:
<$list filter="..."> <<currentTiddler>><br> </$list>
Note: within the <$list> widget content, <<currentTiddler>> is the value of each matched tiddler title. Thus, in the above example, each matched title is display, one per line, using <br> to separate them.
That is 99% correct. If you fix your usage for <$list>...</$list> as described above, your CSS tweak should work just fine.
Let me know how it goes.
-e
Eric Shulman
TiddlyTools: Small Tools for Big Ideas! (tm)
InsideTiddlyWiki: The Missing Manuals