This var. name disappeared from the database at some point and I can find no reference to it here or in COL. Just curious about the how and when of it. Thought it would have at least become a synonym. Any info would be appreciated.

If it was in the database before, it probably was added in the early days of the database, when names were being added in such huge numbers that they weren't being checked for validity. At some point afterward, the papaver entries must have been updated, during which the entry would have been deleted as an invalid name if there had been no record of it in the CoL as an accepted name or a synonym. The CoL, in contrast to other taxonomic databases, doesn't keep listing synonyms forever, so I checked ITIS, GRIN, and The Plant List, but they have no record of this name either.