Modified electrical/starting problem..., ... Found the problem. Need a solution. Options

[BMXerror]

Calling all racers. I haven't had much time to mess with the 914 since finishing the SDS install nearly a year and a half ago. It's got a pretty decent baseline map in it (street tune, no dyno), but it's always been a hard cold starter. It will crank and crank and nothing, but as soon as you let go of the starter it stumbles and tries to fire. Keep doing this and it will eventually start. Just this past few weeks I've gotten back into it and am trying to resolve this issue. And after successfully testing one of my father's theories, I've found the problem. The starter is robbing too much power from the coils, and they're not firing while the starter is engaged. I confirmed this with an inductive timing light. So the question is what to do about it.

Some background info:
*The starter is an ebay high torque starter and has been installed for some time. It started just fine with the D-Jet system.
*The injection is an SDS EM-4F, meaning it's crank fired with two coil packs(batch fire). Supposedly it's a pretty hot spark.
*Part of my SDS install was relocating the Battery to the front. Currently I have the secondary lead on the starter running through the tunnel, and the hot lead that runs the injectors and coils pulled off of the starter pole. However, in my testing I ran a test lead direct from the battery to the coils, and it didn't seem to help the situation.
*I'm seeing a voltage drop at the battery to 8.5V when I hit the starter.
*The battery is fairly new and seems strong, reading 13V at rest.

Any recommendations on how to resolve this problem. It just seems to me like those coils and that starter are too much for that system. Input appreciated.
Mark D.