basham, there's a couple reasons it's important to understand how the foot start/ignition works - one is the starter is always "hot" because the battery connects directly to it, the foot pedal is a mechanical switch that uses that power to activate it at any time, so when you're fiddling under the hood, some 'helper' sitting in the truck can cause the engine to start cranking, stay aware!! the other is that it's real easy to 'hot wire' by simply putting a jumper from the battery to the coil, push the pedal and make away with the truck
the ignition switch simply completes that circuit from the battery to the coil, and any accessories inside - the simpler times before anti-theft devices
Bill
