Essential Properties Bug - Media Replacement

I've been running into an issue with Essential Properties and media replacement.

Ater I add my "template" comp to a main composition, I twirl down the Essential Properies in the timeline OR use the properies panel but my Media Replacement line disappears. I have essential properies above and below my media replacement and they display just fine.

Right now, my only fix is to "pull down" from the original master property - this SOMETIMES seems to load the full property stack, including my Media Replacement layer.

Another bug I have encountered is my essential properities "dissapear" but I can tell that something is still there in the layer stack. If I blindly click on the blank area in the layer stack, the essential property displays. If I scroll up or down, they all disappear again. Clicking around for the master property "pull down" seeems to temporaily fix it.

Has anyone else encountered this type of bug? I know I've experienced it for the last two years of After Effects updates.