perhaps the USAF is concerned that a restart of F-22 production - just with a little adaptation here, a slight redesign there, a piggy-backing from F-35 tech here - would morph into yet another 20 year design/test/build nightmare that would suck the budget out of F-35 and existing F-22 like F-35 sucked the budget out of everything currently in service..?
an F-22 with F-35's avionics and weapons bay isn't an F-22, its F-35D, or worse, F-40.
F-35's shortcomings, in a fighty way, all stem from the weight of the thing and the power that comes out the back - an uprated engine and weight-saving engineering and materials science is going to be a great deal cheaper and quicker than an F-22 redesign and rebuild...