GetItemInfo()

[Everglow]

Hello all you brilliant coders. I am trying to write a mod that stores loot distribution info in a SavedVariable DB when the user is Master Looter. all works fine except for one problem. GetItemInfo() does not seem to work if I have never "owned" the item in question. Just looking at it in the loot window doesn't seem to do the trick. Is there a way to force an item into the local cache, or some other way to get the following information: .. ?
1. (necessary info) rarity of the item
2. (helpful, but not critical info) item ID