ok, back again. Last night I went out and tried hippie's idea, and sure and behold, the lights went out when I hit the starter (without the key being on). I don't know if I left the parking lights on, or if the battery was low (it tested at around 13v on my voltmeter, if that was accurate). Anyway, I took my battery charger out and stuck it on the battery without taking off the cables, and almost immediately, when I hit the starter pedal, I at least heard a click. Since it was late, and dark, I took the battery inside and charged it all night. Had a doc's appointment this morning, but when I got home later, I put the battery back in and hit the button, but got a terrible high pitched grinding sound. Not good. It's made me re-think the starter problem, so in the morning I'm going to go out and put the old starter back in and see if it may actually be good. NAPA already told me I could bring the other one back, especially if it isn't doing it's job. Also, the battery cables are heavy. The ground cable looked pretty light weight when I put in the new battery this spring, so I used a heavy gauge section of medium duty welding lead to make a new cable for that. There is also a 1 1/2" webbed ground strap from the firewall to the bell housing just behind and above the starter. I'll report back after I try the other starter.
