You never know what someone is going through and have to have some patience. Sounds like you had plenty of patience.....
When emails and PM's don't get a response, I don't see any problem with merely asking for an ETA on a forum you hope the person may read.
I can see both sides of the coin, but when you live hours away from one another and don't hear back from them, what are you supposed to do? Hope for the best? Guess? Pray? Flip a coin? Pace back and forth??
I'm sure at some point people just want to know whats up so they can buy another used part just to keep running etc if they have to.
Personally, I'd NEVER send anything out I didn't have a spare for as you just never know what can happen. Lost in the mail, fires, loss of shop, broken welder etc etc but you just have to cover your own arse.
I ended up with a nice 2000 Banshee from the mother of a kid that was murdered. The cylinder was at one shop, the head at another and I was never able to get either one of them. Once they knew he was killed, they just acted like nothing was in their shop from him.............
All our government does is distract us while they steal from us, misspend our tax $ and ruin our country