Hydrate the soil. Maintain dampness. Sounds to me like you are short on water about seven days a week. Sounds to me like your plant needed all the pruned off just to catch and hold on to the minimal watering you were giving it.

Doc, you misunderstood..lol. I meant I hosed 'foliage' once or twice a wk..I water 'soil' when it's barely dry, like I've been doing the last 8-9 yrs..Soil is watered every 3 days or so, depending on whether it's moist or dry. Plus, the pot is sitting on pebbles with a little water, but not so roots sit in water or sucked up via drainage holes..

In the meantime, the top leaves look lifeless..The main trunk is firm, so I doubt the plant is dead..new stems are growing from the side, but I normally remove side-growth, so the plant looks tree-shaped.

I'm running out of ideas..Maybe it needs fresh soil? I'm at a loss..thanks, Toni