Progress this weekend...
Tackled the wiring. It was some of the worst wiring in what was a functional vehicle that I've seen... not sure how I didnt burn down on my trip up the eastern seaboard.
Coiled up what I didnt think I'd need. Ended up taking a couple of wires out of this coil but not much...
I also hooked up the purple wire to the starter solenoid but realized without good grounding in the chassis and cab, it was never going to send voltage to the starter solenoid. Without any heavy wire for a good solid engine to frame ground, I went on a search for some grounding strap. Managed to find some but not until it was pouring rain/snow/ice mix, so not installed yet.
I also snapped the solenoid stud off the starter that was on my 5.3. Replacement starters are $200ish around here, but I happen to have a 5.3 with the starter still attached sitting in my driveway. Paid $150 for it as a rebuildable core thats going to get built fairly aggressively this winter.
So I swapped that one on
And since I had to test to see if the junk engine starter worked or not, I hot wired the solenoid and got the engine to crank over for the first time in my truck. I don't have the PCM connected, and while my fuel system is done, I haven't leak tested it or anything yet, so its not hooked up... so no fire, but its good to hear it crank. I need to buy a new battery too - this is jump started off of our 4Runner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABSt4PyXm7E