Mine have returned. And yes, sometimes they get ghosted (just disappear) during the shift of views and sometimes they just stay there in the ranks, and sometimes they drop -- Don't worry about it. It happens -- just move on to the next video. Put up great content, get your subs while you can and keep going. Most subs don't care nor have the time to "spy" on you to see what your video view counts are today compared to yesterday. Do you often go back the next day to look at all the youtuber's channels you subscribe to and see their view counts to see if they're legit? I doubt it. Why? Because it doesn't matter to you... you like their content. Hell, you probably don't even notice their view counts because you likely don't even care.
Viewers often won't remember unless it was HUGE (like a million views dropping to zero). And if they do spy on you, it's because they are most often likely doing the same thing because they're a competitor, and even then they can't really do anything to stop you. Remember, unless you're successful, buying views is THE ONLY WAY anyone really has a chance of getting ranked rapidly.
Bottom line, are you better off with or without views? Are you better off ranking for 24 hours or not at all? That is the question only you can answer. Because the truth is, every experience is different. That's why I cannot give you a definitive answer. YT is crazy these days with updates, and it's tossing around the views and rankings like a rag doll. You will know exactly what I am talking about once you start up again. Some videos won't get affected at all with any drops. Just crazy! (LOL!)
FYI: right now views are stalled. My orders are stuck in the queue with instant on turned on, so there is likely ANOTHER update probably going on right now. Hold off for now, other wise you'll likely get frustrated that no views are being sent. I'll update once things get back in gear.