It seems to be working for me now after I updated to the latest version of the app! The last time I had downloaded metadata was a few months ago, and it didn't include the publication date back then — I hadn't thought to give it a try again until after I had posted the query, but couldn't find a way to recall the post, sorry about that.
On a somewhat related note though, may I ask if it would be possible to sort by publication date in reading lists? This would be especially helpful for compiling readings lists for story arcs that involve issues from different series.
YACReader
