I could send you my save files, if you want to. For the TypeError, I simply did what I already described. I have one save file before the party member is removed and another one after that, right before a battle that crashes the game.
I think I also found the source of the NG+ bug. The problem wasn't the counter itself, it had something to do with the protagonist dying in battle before escaping. Her dead status seems to carry over to the NG+ and leads to the game noticing that the whole starting party is dead on the first map, prompting a game over screen. It could probably be fixed by healing the whole party in the "timer's up" event right before it asks you to save for a NG+ file. I also have two save files for that, one right before a boss battle with about 30 seconds left. Just let the protagonist die (or use the Hemloxxx item on her), wait until the timer runs out and then escape. It then asks you to save (which I did on another file). If you start a NG+ from that file, it immediately leads to a game over.