From what I remember the chip is a bit fussy and the real state transitions aren't quite as documented,
but I think you can always recover by powering down briefly? This is all half-remembered from a logn
time ago and I may be thinking of an entirely different chip.
If you want to fuzz(*) a receiver like this try to set it to the most promiscuous mode (minimal preamble,
minimal address size) and select a modulation that works reliably so you know the fuzzed packets
are being read and as few as possible are being filtered out early.
I suspect you can't use a 24L01 to fuzz a 24L01 due to the rigid outgoing packet structure, a more
general piece of transmit hardware is needed, but again set to the same modulation type and parameters.
Perhaps the fact the interference isn't from a 24L01 is leading to hitting untested corners of the chip's
packet handling state-machine?
Personally I've experienced microwave oven interference, but in a setup where auto-acknowledgment
was disabled. Have you tried no auto-acks? It may bypass the issue as I've never had a lock up,
although microwave oven isn't really what you've been affected by.