[Connect] text favorites/item types errors (not changing) on missing value?

My first foray into Item Types and Text favorites!

I have Items that I can attach to elements that include Size and Material. I have a text favorite that includes the fields for Size and Material. This is working as expected until...

I am labeling existing utilities, and some of that information is missing for certain elements. I may know an element is 12" RCP, I may know it is 12" or I may know it is RCP. It's possible for an element to have only a portion of the full Item filled out.

As I am labeling along, I will occasionally come across one of these partially filled-in items. At that point, the text favorite stops updating, "stuck" on the last valid label placed. It will not update even if I subsequently select a completely Item-ized element - I still get that stuck label. If I'm not paying attention, or I'm in a region where the "stuck" value could be valid, I can place a lot of labels that are just plain wrong.

I would expect that the text favorite field would default to the expression if there is no value to fill it, not some bogus value that came from a different element entirely. I'd be a lot happier to see DrainageLink.Material in the label than I would the material type from the last element. That way I would know something was wrong!

Is this a setting I need to change somewhere, so that an error shows as an error? Is it possible to find and isolate elements based on missing item data so that I can label them separately with a more appropriate text favorite? I don't need to select them based on a specific value, just if there is a value or there isn't. Am I missing a fundamental concept, or is there a way to set up text favorites that will trap for errors?

This seems really great, but the lack of error trapping for the text favorites is disturbing.
Thank you.

MaryB
MSTN 10.17.00.209