You're welcome. I was as perplexed as you with the "lack of" detail regarding how and when the fuel solenoid became energized. There is only one other circumstance I can liken YOUR situation to (engine acts like it wants to run when cranking, but dies when key is released from START position). Back in the '40s, '50s, and early '60s,, some automotive engine OEMs employed a "ballast resistor" in the ignition coil circuit. This "ballast resistor" was placed in the ignition coil circuit so that the normal system voltage, was cut by 50% before reaching the ignition coil. This meant that on a vehicle with a 12 volt electrical system, only 6 volts was fed to the ignition coil from the RUN position of the ignition switch. 6 volt systems cut the power to 3 volts. The most compelling reason for having to "rig up" the coil feed this way was due to the woefully inadequate batteries, switches, wiring and other things electrical, of that time. Mainly, it was the "weak" automotive batteries of the time that had to be "compensated for". Here's why: All applications that utilize a battery to power a cranking motor, will experience a dramatic "system voltage drop" throughout the entire electrical system during cranking. The "drop" is caused by the very heavy "current draw", or LOAD, of the starter. The voltage drop causes the ignition coil "sparkability" to diminish significantly. Add to that, a good frosty morning where the battery is cold and even weaker. Factor in further that the starter itself has worn brushes and sticky bushings and you will have so much current draw.....you might not even get a spark out of the coil. Enter the wizards of yesteryear (uhh, maybe they were just engineers). They developed a method to assure good sparks from the coil during cranking. The idea was to use a 6 volt rated ignition coil on a 12 volt system instead of the usual 12 volt rated coil (3 volt coil for 6 volt systems). But how can you do that? Wouldn't a 6 volt coil "burn up" if you powered it with 12 volts? Yes, it would........but not if you feed the normal RUN position power through a "ballast resistor" to reduce 12V to 6V before it reaches the coil. HUH? The "key" to how this arrangement assured dependable starting was in adding a SEPARATE circuit that would "BYPASS" the resistor while the starter was engaged. Bypassing the resistor meant that the ignition coil would be fed a "higher voltage" (in spite of system voltage drop) when cranking, than in normal running mode. After the engine "caught on", the starter was disengaged and the bypass circuit disabled. The current feeding the coil once again flowed through the ballast resistor and the 6 volt rated coil was safe from burning up. It was somewhat common in those days to confront a vehicle that acted similar to this Scag. (It wants to start while cranking, but dies when let go of key.) Most of the time, that particular problem would be due to a failed ballast resistor. But those systems had some other shortcomings. Sometimes you would find a vehicle where the owner would complain of "it just cranks and cranks and cranks, but if you turn the key loose, it might start up at that moment. THIS condition was due to the BYPASS circuit being open for some reason. OEMs accomplished "BYPASS" in different ways. Some added an extra post to the ignition switch that would power the bypass circuit during cranking. Other OEMs added an extra wire to the starter solenoid that powered the bypass circuit during cranking. When something became open in the bypass circuit, the coil would only be fed the reduced voltage. Then you were right back to the situation before the ballast resistor systems came into use. Advances in battery, ignition, starters, and conductors in general, made the use of ballast resistor systems disappear in the 1970s (except for some industrial applications). Oh yeah, magneto ignition systems were unaffected by voltage drop in the vehicle electrical system because they are "self contained spark generators".

The truth is he doesn't want to give up the house. He thinks an older home will require more for him to do around the house. We bought a fixer upper the first time around and I had to hire someone to come in and do the work all of which he was capable of doing. Its all about materal wants, brick, etc.etc. I guess he thinks that big house makes him more of a man? We had one row with his parents several years ago but other than that it is fine. He just doesn't want to downgrade. The other home is priced at $89,900. It has a new roof and heat pump but has older siding. Obviously it is smaller but I have heard nothing else but fixing up this car and wanting a motorcycle for the past two years. Well this way he could have them without us being in the poor house. I take care of all of our finances even though I am not good at them. We have about $4k of cc debt which I am just about to get paid off. He seems to think we only have to pay for the big things. The little things don't count!

>>If I was in my 70's, I sure wouldn't invest any more money in the stock market.If you were in your 70's, I assume you would have a more conservative mix of stocks/bonds anyway. I think emerging markets will continue to see some growth, but you need to be aware that both Chinese and Russian governments manipulate their stock markets extensively without any of the (yes, sometimes ineffectual but still extant SEC) transparency we have in the US and Eurozone markets. They are not for amateur investors; if you invest there you need to pay good attention to international business news. Our CDO problem has spilled over to foreign investors because the Fed encouraged them to buy more US assets back when the dollar was strong. I think we do far more harm to ourselves by not teaching the basics of finance and investing to everyone while still in school, than almost anything else. IMHO: Is there a crisis? Yes. Is the Fed and Treasury this time (as opposed to 1929) doing the right things? Yes. Will it take time - several quarters, at least - to see the results? Yes. The "bailout" (I hate that word) hasn't worked because...it hasn't gone into effect yet. The guy proposed to run it still has to be vetted by the Congressional oversight committee. If they don't like him, that delays the whole thing yet again. The markets panic because they are supposed to look forward, but right now they are frozen in a "day-to-day" mode. The general trend is down because the hedge funds are going to have to sell their holdings for redemptions from spooked investors. Forced selling always creates a lower Dow. It will pass, it always does. It wasn't pleasant watching our portfolio drop 26% during the years 2000-2001. But it recovered to the point where our 20-yr ROI remains in the 11% range despite the three quarters of 2008. We are still holding six-figure gains compared to what we held at the end of the bear market in Dec 2001. If you are working and still contributing to a retirement plan, the market noise should not and need not affect you. This is assuming you have a properly diversified portfolio that will give you less risk with reasonable returns over the long-term. All this nervousness is the reason why I was against privatizing Social Security accounts; most people simply do not have any stomach for risk, nor can they see the long-term even though they may not need the money for 10 or 20 years yet. However, this is a very difficult time for those who are in retirement or planning to retire in the next 24 months. Without a DBP (defined benefit pension), VUL (variable universal life), or annuity policy set up, there aren't many people who can cut their expenses back 30% immediately and survive.

Congratulations on graduating! I found the same situation when I tried to apply for NICU position in some hospitals, every time someone with experience got hired over me. I could find something in a bigger city in VA (where a friend of mine works and who told me they hire new nurses all the time) but I didn't want to move. You may end up with a permanent position out of the temp position. When I moved back to NV after not working for a few years that's how I got my first long-term job. It was a temp position but they liked me and offered me a permanent position, and requested the temp agency release me early. They did.