olememphis51,

It's not unheard of for the starter switch itself to short out to the case of the starter. This is a mechanical problem with a worn out switch and doesn't involve the dynamics of actually starting the truck. Anytime a device shorts to ground without doing work, a horrific amount of current flows and this causes heat.

It sounds like your starter guy focused on the starter itself and didn't give the little switch mounted on top a clean bill of health. If the starter is worn out or the engine resists turning over, the starter case will heat as it works hard to spin the motor. You will usually see some smoke and smell the grease as it burns out of the hot starter.

A bum switch will fry but you won't get a hot starter case or usually smell crud inside the hot starter cooking. Take a close look at the little switch on top of the starter...the one with the big battery lug on it. It comes off quite easily.

Stuart