not starting..., I know it's not the starter... Options

[tat2dphreak]

today I was trying to crank the 1.8 engine that's in the tailshifter right now... the 1.7 will go into it soon, but I wanted to see if the 1.8 was in good shape and could be sold as a good running engine... instead of a complete core...

fuel pump kicks one when I turn the key on, but the starter did nothing... so I pulled it off and put my spare(also was in question) on... it didn't work either... so I put the one that I know works on from my other engine... still nothing...

I took the original starter to Autozone... it only needed 4 volts to turn like a champ...

so, now that I wasted all day trying 3 starters and replacing all of the fuses(2-3 were missing) I am back a square 1!

how can I check the ignition-switch on the column? what else do I need to check to diagnose the problem? also, is there a reference somewhere that can tell me what size fuses go where, so I can double check this? it's not in the haynes wiring diagrams, where I thought is should be....
thanks!