It's been a while since I've seen it so I may be slightly fuzzy on the details, but the reason he was shuffled out was kind of hilarious. I remember hearing this from someone who was quoting Wil Wheaton. I'll have to find the source.
So TNG is airing and they've got different options for the Chief Engineer character to take over, all depending on public reaction to the character. Argyle is offered up as one option. Letters start coming in saying that Argyle should take over as the Chief Engineer. Problem was that these letters started coming in before the episode where Argyle was featured. Theory was that the actors wife had started a letter writing campaign to try and get Argyle as a main cast member. Argyle was quietly shuffled off after that and not considered as a serious candidate.