I've wondered in the last few months if HUMMER Parts Online is still in business or not. Their site is still up and lists the Argentinium you are looking for. I've been eyeballing that since I got my deuce two years ago---just can't bring myself to cough up the $700 for it, plus whatever God awful shipping costs are incurred as you said.
http://www.hummerpartsonline.com/ind...rtnum=17801235
U-steps are a crap shoot anymore. I used to find them all over the place, now things are drying up and they've gotten scarce. If I stumble on any, I'll let you know.