Ignition help needed. 1973 Duster

Your statement is confusing, or at least not telling us what we need. What do you mean "the solenoid is getting power?" Power "where?"

The large solenoid terminal ALWAYS gets battery power. The small terminal gets power from the starter relay when triggered by the key in "start." So I'm "guessing" the small terminal is NOT getting power otherwise you whould not be able to "'short" the whatever you are shorting to crank it

SO LET'S TROUBLESHOOT

First find the starter relay and jumper (screwdriver pliers etc) the two largest bare terminals. Be careful, keep the transmission out of gear. It should crank.

If that happens, next probe the two SMALLEST terminals on the relay. Do not disconnect them, leave everything connected, "backprobe" them

I believe I understand what you're getting at. I'll double check connections on the solenoid and do as you said with the relay. not sure when I'll be back to report on results. Thanks for the advice anyway.