i am about to dig into this same-sounding situation. i can only get the vehicle (88 trooper II) to start when i 'fred flintstone' it up to speed and pop the clutch and then crank it. whabamm it runs good. otherwise the ignition just grinds. same piggybacked solenoid on the starter and right now i am going by the Haynes book. once i remove the starter, how can i test it or the solenoid? advice? gracias.
mpH