Well the only thing that's really chained I would imagine is your ground/common wires. All you need to do is replace the the break in your chain left by the joysticks' departure. Crimping new common wires onto quick disconnects is a relatively quick job, so I wouldn't worry too much. The NO wires can remain on the buttons without issue.
(If you want to do it quick and dirty, you can solder/crimp/whatever the two orphaned wires together to complete the chain).
I have taken a quick video of my U360. I'm using stock sticks with the medium springs and circular restrictors. I recessed underneath my panel approx. 10mm, so it's almost like using the long sticks on 3/4" wood.
Sorry for the quality - it's a cheap, digital camera MPEG capture thing-a-ma-jig that likes to film everything "dark". But it should give you an idea....
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TueFZOaow88[/youtube]