Ed, It may, or may not be the starter. It could be a simple bad ground wire.
It was a phenomenal week end with respect to the weather, and with multiple other Donzis available for getting my son a Donzi ride, I couldn't see spending the week end in the bilge trying to track it down.
Thanks for confirming about the internals on the engine.
What is the hold up with the steering? Are parts slow in coming? I hope you get it installed soon!