While it may not have had any direct bearing on the crash, it's worth noting that Ara had no idea that he was talking to a new controller. Look at it from his point of view. He'd been in contact with SCT, and they cut him loose. Just a short time later, he calls them back, most likely assuming he's talking to the same controller who knows who he is and where he is. Ara reports that he's climbing (maybe momentarily task-saturated now that he's IMC), and now the dang controller treats him like a first-callup and goes through the whole radar-ID thing! I'm sure it was one of those WTF moments for Ara. Now he has to reach down and put in a squawk - at the very worst time to be performing that act.