[Westy57]

Thanks for all the suggestions folks ! I appreciate all the help.

The starter does work fine (spins good). It only messed up on me the one time but if it does go, I know it will be in the wrong place at the wrong time !

It's an auto. so I cna't try anything in 4th gear.

I took the starter out tonight and ran it down to the local Checker and had it tested and it came out o.k. The guy there noticed however that the lock nut that holds the larger terminal post to the starter was a bit loose. He suggested that I tighten that up because that's what holds the post into the starter and if the post is loose it won't make good contact. (sounded reasonable to me....). I tightened it up and replaced the original starter so we'll see.

The battery terminals were all tight and they were not corroded, so I ruled that out.

We'll see how it goes for the next few days. I have a spare jack, jackstand, tools and everything short of a starter I need in the trunk just in case !