Considering how their deaths and returns were very different, I could imagine Spock still stating that It would be impossible to discuss the subject without a common frame of reference. Scotty's death was a blip of nothing to him, no seeming "experience" to be recounted. He could talk about what effect knowing that he had died had on him psychologically, I suppose? But that's not really what McCoy was after.
Scott didn't give anyone his katra. Christine Chapel has that in common with McCoy - both acted as vessels for Spock, although he hadn't died in "Return to Tomorrow".
Since death is defined as "a permanent cessation of all vital functions," can what happened to Scotty truly be described as death? By the medical standards of the time that McCoy knew, yes, Scotty was dead because there was no way to do anything about his condition. However, Nomad was able to "repair" him. Assuming Nomad is not a supernatural being, I take that to mean he just had extremely advanced medical knowledge that McCoy didn't have. So with the proper medical knowledge, Scotty was able to be revived. Doesn't that mean he actually wasn't truly dead in the first place?
Let's just say Scotty was clinically dead. Solves the definition argument.
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