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UPDATE: Bottom line, the problem is fixed, but I honestly don't know why. I'm just happy she starts and I hope the problem doesn't recur. And if it does, I hope it's nowhere unfortunate. So here's the story:
I bought a load-tester for the battery, and everything checked out. The battery is very healthy. I then bypassed the solenoid and the starter engaged, although it was kinda weak. So I did a voltage-drop test across the battery as I hit the starter and everything was good. The voltage dropped down a little, but it looked from the meter to be above 10 volts. I'd previously removed the solenoid, so I put it back on. I jumped the positive battery terminal to the "S" post on the solenoid and BAM! The engine started cranking like crazy.
So I started to wonder ... had I somehow reversed the brown wire, which had been connected to the "I" post, and the red wire, which had been connected to the "S" post? Just as an experiment, I connected the brown wire to the "S" post. Got in the car, turned the key to position 1, and the engine started spinning like crazy. Well, that told me the wires had not been mixed up! So I connected the wires to the correct posts (brown to "I," red to "S"). Got in the car and turned the key to position 1. Lights lit up like before. Then I turned it to position 2, where all the trouble was before. But this time, the car started right up.
I really have no idea what's going on. I'd like to say I cleaned some contacts or did something else objective, but I didn't. The good news is, I'm back in business. The bad news is, my mystery remains unsolved and I will forever be wary of getting stranded. Perhaps my diddling cleaned up a bad connection somewhere. Perhaps I'll be cursed with an intermittent problem. Alas.
Thanks to HeadacheGuy for taking the time to help. I hope I can return the favor someday. Cheers!
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