97 GSX No Spark No Crank

[RocketFox650]

1997 GSX 787 Parked in perfect running order. Installed a new battery for the season as a prelude to beginning any preseason maintenance I could find. A junk battery on a second ski meant the GSX was used to jump the other last summer until the battery fried and wouldn't allow it to run again until changed. Since the batteries were the same age, one was bad, the other only about 75% capacity at best, I swapped both with new ones that actually happened to be higher capacity. The broke down ski fired right up with zero out of water issues. My GSX now won't start. With the key in my display comes up correct, the VTS buttons click like a circuit closing so it's getting power there (old owner removed it when it broke and set the jet level like the SP that's stationary), and the display buttons work as designed. The start button however does nothing. I can jump the solenoid and crank the engine without any problems, the fuse there is fine. With the key in and starter jumped, again the engine cranks without issue, but there's no spark. I found another bank of 5 fuses were found under the dash, the 2nd from the top (7.5) was replaced and the other 4 are fine. I can't figure out what isn't functioning here. I've read posts of people's button having to be wiggled around or pushed in different spots until they got a spark with the cranking, but it doesn't make much if any sense to me tbh. It seems like that should just be a switch that sends power to the starter at its simplest description. Please, someone chime in. Finding references to my specific ski is hard enough. I'm having a hell of a time with jet ski specific issues in general and every one I'm actually having is something that doesn't make logical sense. I'm about to order parts and every one on the list is a replacement for a system that isn't working but isn't broken but if the originals are no longer there they can no longer do the thing that is happening, logically making problems go away. It's expensive and I'm not solving anything really having never figured out what was even happening.

 

[RocketFox650]

After spending hours in forums, I have this vague memory of a small, maybe 16ga, wire that was connected to my battery negative terminal. If it's what I think it is, the fuse I replaced was part of the VTS system which never worked, uses this as a ground as well as a two other circuits that are part of the ignition and start circuits. My memory is horrid, and I didn't pull the battery, but am confident the wire existed. I'm not positive which ski it went on though either. The SP or GSX. A lot of replies mention it and the purpose is what I just described. Unfortunately there aren't many posts for 97 GSX, but a lot for the GTX and the 96 GSX, which are all similar enough to be useful. Unfortunately even when I'm lucky and find another 97 GSX, the people who have advice are always comparing the problem to the other 2 skis and go on to say that that particular model changed things up a bit. So I still don't know if this is the one I saw the 2nd wire on, or if this model has the wire at all. It's still a guess and I'll update as I find more info, but the 96 GSX and the GTX have this ground and if missing would cause exactly what I'm experiencing I bet.