I did not know there was a 5 min pickled pepper Worth. Had to go look! I don't see a problem with not using the sugar, as it is more for taste. Here is a recipe specifically for hot peppers. You don't have to use the bells in it...use whatever peppers you want as a sub for them. I'm not finding a recipe for using the lower temp pasteurization method for peppers, so that's not an option. I would personally use calcium chloride (Pickle Crisp) to help with the crispness.
http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_06/pick...t_peppers.html
Here's some help with pickle problems...
http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_06/pickleproblems.html