Thanks for the reply, asherkin.
Yes! I did just that (can't believe I never tried that before) and the memory leak doesn't seem to happen anymore! See below:
So now, what are the options? Do you think Basecomm can be fixed in some way, or do I have to look for another workaround?
Basecomm allowing voice chat among dead players is really important for Neotokyo, as it's a big part of what kept the game alive up until now.