95 Escort Won't Start

Jumped small wire on starter straight to battery and started right up, the starter kept running until I pulled the jumper off. Starter relay? Ignition switch?

What ever it was it must have knocked it loose because I put the small wire back on the starter and it fired right up. Crazy thing.

It could have been some oxidation building between the two connectors over time. When you disconnect and reconnect that connector the metal parts scrape against each other and make a clean surface, so the connection is good again.

It also could have been a slightly loose or damaged wire near the connector that got jiggled back into position when you disconnected / reconnected it. If that's the case the problem will probably be back to visit you later ;-)