Not at all. That's why I suggested making guides from an expanded version of the gradient. That way you've got the start and end points and the angle. As long as you've got a swatch of the original gradient you can then re-drag it with the gradient tool. The number of stops makes not the slightest difference.
Klaus's overprint-on-an-expanded-copy suggestion (#40) is a very good idea and alleviates the need to fiddle with the original.