this is only what i have heard...i may have got it wrong but i'm sure one of the pro's will correct me...
i think your issue and muted's issue are related.
it isnt always the amp draw, it can sometimes be the braking that kills them.
when you use the breaks, power flows back through the MMM and into the battery, if the battery isnt a high enough AMP rating (say 80A cont or something rather than the recomended 150A) then the resistance causes the voltage inside the ESC to rize, in some cases this can destroy or damage the phase caps.
now when the phase caps die they seem to go quietly, like just before you finish off a battery pack and put it away.
the blown up caps wont always prevent it from running straight away, and the ESC can soldier on for a bit longer.
but next time you turn it on and it's armed itself, it trys to use hte caps and...oh no they arnt there...so BOOM
these problems seem to happen more often on 6s operation...because the voltage is already high so it is already getting closer to the 40v MAX braking voltage rating.
i belive the problem you guys both have might be related with the caps, jpoprock might have used the car a bit longer after hte caps went pop and as soon as the ESC needed the caps again...well....
but as for muted, i think his caps may have gone just before he brought her in for the day at the end of the pack or something, hence when he turned it on next time and hte caps were needed...fire
hope one of the more experienced guys can clear up weather i am right or weather i completely fecked up
sorry for the loss.
shaun