Hey @joel,
a 'dead' object means that Python tries to reference a node which does not exist in the C++ layer anymore, i.e., has been de- or reallocated. Since my function retrieves the tag on the spot and does not attempt to pass it outside of the function, it seems a bit unlikely that the tag is already dead, at least I am not experiencing any of this.
Please provide the scene, code you are running, and the exact stack trace (do not forget to save your script first, so that the trace has the correct line numbers). Otherwise I will not be able to help you.
Cheers,
Ferdinand