The final line is printed as
\pld@R {4}{1}+\pld@R {1}{1}\pld@S {d}{1}
\pld@R has the meaning of \pld@Rational. Thus the following example redefines \pld@Rational. If the numerator and denominator are equal and a symbol (\pld@S) follows, then \pld@R{1}{1} will omit the factor before the symbol.
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{polynom}
\makeatletter
\let\pldx@saved@PrintRational\pld@PrintRational
\renewcommand*{\pld@PrintRational}[2]{%
\def\pldx@do{\pldx@PrintRational{#1}{#2}}%
\futurelet\pldx@token\pldx@do
}
\newcommand*{\pldx@PrintRational}[2]{%
\let\pldx@do\@firstofone
\ifx\pldx@token\pld@S
\def\pldx@a{#1}%
\def\pldx@b{#2}%
\ifx\pldx@a\pldx@b
\let\pldx@do\@gobble
\fi
\fi
\pldx@do{%
\pldx@saved@PrintRational{#1}{#2}%
}%
}
\makeatother
\begin{document}
\polylongdiv{x^3-x^2+d}{x-2}%
\polylongdiv{x^3-x^2-3+d}{x-2}%
% David Carlisle's test cases:
\polylongdiv{x^3-x^2+1}{x-2}
\polylongdiv{1+d}{1}
\end{document}

1+d, then the1will also vanish. – Heiko Oberdiek Sep 18 '13 at 20:14\pld@true/\letas next token was not specific enough for me. Thus I patched at a higher level. – Heiko Oberdiek Sep 18 '13 at 20:50