Yes, full steering travel lock-to-lock will indeed make for more movement and stress on the clockspring and earlier failure. Clocksprings often break when the steering is hard right and the spring coils are in maximum tension, such as when parallel parking. But they can break at any time if the spring has been suffering continual stress, including from age.

There's a good explanation for an intermittent problem such as yours. There are two spring coils inside the clockspring, one for each of the two wires in the airbag circuit. If one spring breaks, there can still be some continuity in the wound spring between touching metal except in certain positions, such as end of steering travel. That's why you're able to go a while after a reset. When both break, it's usually game over and no amount of resets will work. There will also be no spring resistance when the clockspring is turned by hand.

The controller needs to see a small amount of resistance in the circuit to know an air bag is present. Even with some continuity in a broken coil, the controller will get upset and raise a code 5 if the resistance isn't within the expected range. That's why the airbag gas discharge connection is recommended as the first place to check. It's the easiest place to check and any oxidation there could create such a situation.

I tried emailing my clockspring article to your user email address through the Brickboard mail system. It bounced as expected as the email system hasn't been working in recent history. Please post your email address and I'll send it directly.

I wrote the article way back in 2009 and later submitted it for the FAQ here to appear in the Descriptive file feature section, not the main sections. It covers contact reel (clockspring) testing, removal and installation. Unfortunately the article never made it into the next major revision of the FAQ as Steve Ringlee stopped maintaining it soon thereafter.

Although written for the 700/900 series, the 700 single airbag system is very similar to the later 1991-on 240s other than the contact reel the 240 steering column and steering wheel being different. You can tell the later clocksprings as they a single screw lock tab and the spiring was partly visible. The 240 orange dash wiring harness to the steering column will likely also be slightly different. I didn't check, but the control module is likely also different because components like the airbag and clockspring are different. The principles are the same.

I hope the article helps find and fix your problem. If you have questions post back and either I or someone else will try to help. I am familiar with the earlier 240s, but haven't needed to work on the 240 SRS system.
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Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now