[Kurt B]

sounds like the starter wire is arcing. In my car, there's a big yellow wire in the trunk on the driver's side in the air plumbing probably beneath the gauges. Obviously you don't want to turn that key much more...wire won't cook for a while since it's so damn thick, but...

If I were hunting this down the first thing I'd do is track that starter wire all the way through and find out where it could have gotten pulled or disconnected and is hanging against the chassis arcing when you crank it.