Ignition woes

Battery voltage before start: 12.35. Voltage at start 10.15. I have not measured voltage drop from the starter relay to the red ammeter bolt, because I noticed when starting the car, I only get 8-9 volts on my meter, but while starting, if I move the key just a tad 'up from the max downward point, I got 12.1 volts, with my key on the 'start' side of the ballast resistor. This result is strange to me, because I only got 10.15 in 'run,' with the + meter end on the 'run' side of the ballast resistor.
I read your tail light comment, and I'm by myself, so later in the week, I plan to have someone help me test this hypothesis. In the late '90s, there was a local MoPar club, but it's gone now. People I've to whom I've mentioned my problem last week just want me to take my car to a shop and get it 100 %. There is no inherent interest in the object in itself, only the sense of ego and alienation from the object itself, just the dream of bragging rights at a show, with your eye on the next step up and making profits.