How does Download Later work

I don't know if this is the specific problem you're having, but there's apparently some hardware weirdness when the 3DS is in sleep mode, possibly related to sleep mode with DS games. Exposure to magnetic fields might be part of the problem. For instance, putting a 3DS on top of a DS Lite (which has magnets in the speakers in the lid) can sometimes cause this issue:

Unfortunately, as you have noted, without the original system to transfer to, you are likely without hope. 3DS titles are tied to console, not to any ID (Nintendo Network ID or otherwise), so without the console, you can't do a whole bunch. If you had the console, you'd be able to do things differently, but as it stands, there isn't much you can do.

There are stories online where people say you can contact Nintendo to get your stuff back, but since Nintendo themselves seem pretty hush on the matter (their website states that you can only do things through transfer), I don't know how lucky you will be. Club Nintendo keeps a sort of record, in a way, so they might be able to help that way.

I would also keep in mind that stores usually wipe any used consoles they receive, so even if you can get to the store, it is not necessarily true that you can even get your stuff back, even if they have your particular console still, as doing a format wipe of the SD card and the system means that your information will also be gone. This prevents the next owner from being able to essentially get free games by downloading what you had already purchased.