Admiral Kane wrote a book about the Wahoo that I would highly recommend to anyone interested in submarines at war (he also wrote one about the Tang, which is an equally good read). In it he devotes a final chapter, which he freely acknowledges is informed speculation, about the Wahoo's last patrol. He theorizes that the Wahoo was crippled by just such a circular run, had to run the Strait on the surface, was spotted, and was sunk.
Have you ever read Shinano by Captain Joseph Enright? It deals with the duel between the submarine Archerfish and the Japanese super-carrier Shinano off Tokyo Bay in November 1944.
Interesting! I would also suggest the possibility that the Wahoo was deliberately running the strait on the surface. There was a US wolfpack that did just that in 1945. They figured the best way out of the Japanese ASW net was a night run @ flank speed. Every sub made it through. The commodore figured that crawling submerged on depleted batteries there was a good chance they'd be trapped.
Pictures of the wreck might suggest a cause for the sinking. We'll probably never have more than a informed guess, however.