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You have to keep a few things in mind.
1) Marvel Comics in the early 1990s made a lot of foolish choices, and one of those was to emphasize style over substance. Rather than concentrating on good art and writing, Marvel pushed crossovers and gimmicks and overexposure of its stars. By the large, the management didn't support good storytelling at the time, and it had to weigh heavily on Gruenwald.
2) My guess is that Gruenwald's health had something to do with it. Mark Gruenwald died of a heart attack a few years after leaving the book. I believe he knew he didn't have much time left, and spent the last two years on the book examining concepts of death and a hero's legacy (a lot of that "Cap is Dying" arc dealt with Steve Rogers' acceptance of his mortality and attempts to find someone to carry on the Captain America tradition). These are not fun concepts to explore in a conventional comic book, and I'm sure Marvel's management gave him a lot of grief for the direction he was taking. With the strain of his health and pressure from his bosses, his heart wasn't in it anymore.
Most longtime Cap fans recognize Gruenwald's contributions and the overall quality of his work. Hopefully the upcoming Cap movie will spur more reprints, and the comics world at large will come to appreciate his work as well.
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I think Gru's health did weigh on him. He didn't die years after he left Cap, it was months.
Also, I just think he ran out of ideas. He created a great arc for Cap and Diamondback. But he was old school. Create the illusion of change. So the reasons to keep the couple apart became more ridiculous.
At least Gru was a gentleman. Leave the campsite in good condition for the people who follow. Unlike Morrison, who changes everything and leaves a mess. I'm of course talking about Damien. As a concept I hate him, but understand his motives. But Morrison doesn't write characters, he writes archtypes. Damien resembles no human being. But I'm ranting. I really do think Gru ran out of ideas. Plus, the art wasn't helping the weaker stories. All in all I'd say he stayed at the party two years too long.
Or I could be wrong.
