Sorry guys, but I gotta chime in here before the confusion becomes overwhelming...
A "slip yoke" is the portion of drive shaft that enters the out put of the transmission (two wheel drive) or transfer case (4x4) when there is no yoke bolted to the output shaft. (Stock J**p Wrangler rear drive shaft for instance, or even a mid eighties two wheel drive Ch*v truck)
You can have a fixed yoke that takes a drive ******, or one the accepts a universal joint. Either style of these may use a single u-joint configuration, or can be attatched to a double cardan (C. V.) joint.
The slip spline or slip yoke of a drive shaft can be overextended under compression/ extension (depending on suspension style) if the shaft is too short. Too long of a driveshaft can also cause damage to your truck if it cannot compress fully under suspension travel and it "bottoms out."
Redneck, Tom Woods web site has some good write ups and explanations of what you are asking about, As for the shaft you saw come apart, I suspect it was too short for the application, and a "slip yoke eliminator" kit is not required for that truck.