OMG It is fixed !!!!

This is so frikkin' awesome. Thank you !!!!!

I need to fan myself. Like seriously, guys, this is awesome.

There are still a few lingering things – the issues with bedrolls and teleportation pyramids being automatically added is still happening for me, and the issue with getting a "sucker punch" icon added (even though I don't know and can't use Sucker Punch). All that is still happening on hotbar #1. (as of patch 3.0.180.158, March 8th)

However, none of that really matters, because the issue with the skills being deleted from the hotbar upon reload has, as best as I can tell, been completely solved. So you can set up hotbar #5 any way you want, and it will stay the way you put it. This has fixed a major headache for me in the game, thank you!

For others who may be struggling with hotbar issues, just turn off automated behavior in the options and put everything on hotbar #5; it works now.