hey jim....
you're going to need to get a copy of a script rpm2cpio, and use it to
rebuild/install the rpm app.
steps
-get a copy of the rpm2cpio script from googling
-install the script per instructions
-get a copy of the rpm rpm and download it
-run the rpm2cpio on the rpm file to install the rpm app
this should get you your rpm functionality back
you can then use this to reinstall yum
you can then use yum to reinstall rpm/yum, and update the rpm database...
have fun!
Is there no solution with the rescue disk using --dbpath and --root options? Or does the rescue disk not include a standalone rpm?
/Mike