Hi Wes, could be a couple of things. 1) are they blackening from the bottom up? If so, you just may have missed them openning! They're only open of MAYBE 2 hours durring the day (sometime between between 8 and 5:30...always while I'm at work. DOH!
. If that's the case, well, don't worry.
2) I am having a problem now where the buds are dying before they ever open. I think it's because my bulbs are old and the plants don't have enough light to support flowering. That just a guess, though. I have yet to change the bulbs to find out (BAD SCHLOATY! BAD!
I'm sure there are other things that could cause them to decline, but you didn't mention whether the rest of the plants look healthy...
As for getting seeds, well, that's easy. Wait untill the brown pods crack open (can take a while...I think about a month if I remember correctly). Then gently tap the bud with your finger, or something, over a white sheet of paper. You should get tons of seeds. Remember, though, that not all the buds will ripen at once, as they don't all flower at once.