I had been having a different problem.
Using exult from apps.open-pandora.org and the u7: black gate game data from abandonia, I would be able to start a new game no problem. Saved the game and went to bed, tried to use the journey onward feature for black gate the next day - crash. I'm not sure if this is because the journey onward feature only uses the (currently unsaved) quick save slot and not the most recent save, but either way the feature wouldn't work.
For those having a similar problem, a simple but tedious workaround is just to start a new game each time (type in a new character name) and then use the in-game load/save feature. Works fine.