I've owned two of the 2011's, lost one with hurricane Irene in the North East, long story, put out a dealer search and got another exactly like the one I lost, both of them had iPod issues, the first they replaced the wire in the bag which helped but both the first and the second, when it happened / happens I shut the iPod down and listen to the radio for a few miles then end up reprogramming it by going through the play list, and resetting my top picks / shuffle etc - it then starts to work and will continue for several weeks without an issue. Both of them acted exactly the same, at this point I would not bet on the cable being faulty on the first one. I too would be leaning towards the "NIM". It will be interesting to see what the MoCo comes up with......
As far as the iPod stopping, almost sounds like it received a charge, my want to check the wiring and confirm they have not charged a wire by chaffing etc, that is a speaker or control........
Appreciate the time you take to keep us updated.......