May be a reference to needle bearings used in a washer format as a thrust washer? The teflon would just be a washer then. I've seen vintage Teflon in a top hat configuration that was both thrust and side in one application, on various other scopes.
The newer mount has 4 teflon pieces that the Edmund catalog description calls "teflon bearings". I agree they are not bearings per se but they do function as bearings. There are two flat teflon washers on both declination and polar shafts and the polar shaft, on this mount, has two teflon sleeves that fit radially in grooves on both ends of the shaft.