i think i may have gotten a little closer today....starting has been smooth since the new IP, but always seemed to need extra cranking, more than it should. read another post here about battery terminal oxidation. i do have the side terminal bolt mod
...anyway, checked it, sure enough, driver side +ve battery post was oxidized....cleaned it w. my dremel, replaced the zinc bolt with a brass bolt & nut, greased it, tightened it all back up....turned it over ( was sitting cold from yesterday & not plugged in)....the glow cycle lasted longer, and the starter sounded stronger, and it fired right away. i've been checking glows, glow controller, fuel, and even started to worry about compression... lesson learned - check the battery power source before all that other stuff.

It was -13C here this morning, i didn't plug in and ran 1 glow cycle, fired after 10 revolutions or so, a little rough idle until the glows finished cycling and then smooth after that, for some stupid reason my passenger side + battery cable keeps coming loose on me, first i thought the starter was going out but each time it starts to just click i check the connection and sure enough the darn thing is loose again. Whats the best remedy for this, top mounts or using a different bolt in the side posts? These connections were all cleaned in the last couple of weeks.

Here's a suggested post from another forum:

"Buy a brass bolt, two nuts and three washers, cut the head off and screw it in the battery. Run a brass nut down over a brass washer on the bolt and tighten it against the battery terminal. Before installing the nut and washer grease it well. Strip the plastic off the battery cable connectors and clean corrosion off. Battery terminal cleaner or baking soda will neutralize the acid in the cable. Place the battery cables on the bolt between two brass washers and run a nut down on the combination. Be sure to grease again before installing the cables."

trying to tighten the oem side terminal bolt with only 3-4 threads is the issue. eventually th side terminal starts leaking, and you need a new battery. the 1st nut on the brass bolt tightens much better onto the side terminal..then tighten the 2nd nut while holding a wrench on the first. it won't come loose anymore.