Dougt115-
It sounds like you have a heat transfer issue rather than simply a friction issue. But you still need to provide a bit more information before we can diagnose the problem and suggest a remedy.
You say there is a "heating issue" with your 17-4 H900 cres bushing and the apparent source of the heat input is sliding friction resulting from "reciprocating travel". The mechanical properties of your 17-4 H900 bushing won't be significantly affected until the bushing gets close to its 900degF hardening temperature. You also mentioned there is some form of lubricant present at the sliding interface, but most conventional lubricants that I know of (oils or greases) are limited to operating temps of less than 500degF. Finally, since the friction heating in your bushing/shaft contact is the product of radial load and reciprocal axial sliding motion, there is not much improvement (in terms of friction heating) that will result from minor changes to surface texture/roughness.
Due to the fact that you have reciprocal sliding contact motion there is a brief increase in friction when the sliding stops and reverses direction during each cycle. There are some very hard surface coatings, such as thin-dense-chrome or DLC, that will reduce the friction loss at this condition. Another thing that you can do to minimize the increased friction at the point where sliding stops and reverses direction is to make sure your bushing/shaft fit has adequate L/D proportions and minimum radial clearance. This will minimize the tendency of the shaft/bushing to "cock" relative to each other and edge load when the direction of motion reverses. The increased radial edge loading effect at opposing ends of the bushing due to cocking can be quite significant.
Lastly, if your "heating issue" is mostly a result of limited heat transfer away from the sliding contact interface, then the easiest fixes are to increase the total surface area at the contact interface and/or change the bushing material to something with better thermal conductivity.
Hope that helps.
Terry