Well, I sliced them off with an Xacto knife. I'll be diving the Tuesday, so I'll be able to see if that fixes the wet breathing issue.
Just off the top of my head, I can think of a few reasons for water intrusion, that have nothing whatsoever to do with those tabs -- everything from a defective o-ring; a damaged diaphragm; an old mouthpiece, perhaps; or, especially, in my experience, dirt or grit under the exhalation diaphragm . . .