Can we not do the update until a reset?  I prefer to wait for this update but not sure if I should due to the issue of the zl reset.

I updated Zlevels as soon as the update was released (no change in levels) and just updated oxide (no change in levels). the only time i have lost levels is when PlaytimeTracker and Zlevels are updated at the same time. You can always back up your players data file if you are concerned.