Gentlemen,
Thanks for all your help. I think I have figured it out with all the input I received. By using several of your suggestions and testing virtually all of them, I have come to the conclusion the problem is in the bottom end of the engine. Especially using the test of turning it over by hand when it was cold and hot with the plugs out I have found that it is a bit harder to turn over when warm, but it is still tighter than I think it should be when cold, even allowing for an outside temperature of 43F. I also find that it will turn about 1/8 of a revolution and then grab. I then need to tick the starter to get it to move past this spot and then it will do the same thing... remember this is with the plugs out so there should be no compression to lock it up.
The electrical shop did some calling around for me and found out that swapping the starter gear was not an option. Their experts said if the 6V gear engaged with the 12V fly wheel gear it would bind within 1 rev and break something or lock up the starter. If the 12V gear were put on the 6V starter it would be loose, rattle a bit, and start chipping teeth off the flywheel. Neither would cause the symptoms I was having.
I also did find that a couple of plug wires were swapped for some reason, but that just made it run a bit smoother when I could start it. It didn't resolve the cranking issue either hot or cold.
Once again, thanks for all the help. It looks like either a swap or tear down is in my future. Kudos to you guys for jumping in and pointing me in the right direction.
