Hi Adrian,
You are correct the radio is diode protected, if you would like you may send this into the service center to have a polyswitch installed, which will allow you to cycle the battery while it is in the transmitter.
1.) Yes it is okay and recommended as you cannot cycle with it in the transmitter.
2.) Yes, it is recommended to help prolong the life of your battery.
3.) No, removing the battery will not cause you to lose any model settings.
4.) There is no problem with losing memory or settings.
I hope you find this information helpful. You can also reach our Futaba support technical team at 217-398-8970, or via fax at 217-398-7721.
Sincerely,
Krysta
Lead Futaba Customer Service and Programming Technician
Also you may want to check our Website at (
http://www.futaba-rc.com)