You know, I have almost all the dvd's, but no collectibles. I have always wanted a little die cast of the general lee, but I never had the money to collect. I need to check eBay!!!
It was just this episode. Answers.com explains that John Schneider was filming a TV movie at the time. He was in all the other episodes, except for the Coy and Vance episodes in Season 5. Hope this helps and a side note, I'm watching this episode at this very moment.
I bet it has been. I've been telling Hoss that my grandmother has been in and out of the hospital the last few weeks. It has been so crazy. But she is doing better and I am able to be back here a lot too!