You win, Rivets. I'm done trying. The general lack of help/knowledge and size of the job is too much for me. I'll get rid of this the best I can and figure out how to mow the property in the spring. I'm going to say the rest of this stuff in case a future reader thinks I'm just one more of those . . . what was it someone on here said . . . "who want to put in the least effort possible" and have their "hand held".
For what it's worth, I'd like to say that we no longer have any small engine repair shops around here who are even writing new service tickets. The earliest I could an appointment at a mechanic 45 minutes away is SEVEN MONTHS from now. The dealers in our area are now only servicing machines they've sold, and our dealer doesn't have service anymore. Been told countless times that the old guys are retiring, and the young guys are too lazy to do menial work (their words, not mine). I had no option but to learn how to do this myself.
My daughter's been mowing our two acres all summer with a weedeater and is always tired and hurting. Five months ago, when I took on this task, I didn't even know where to find the carburetor, what it would look like or what a "rebuild" involved. Comments like "broken head gasket" sent me to youtube and blogs for 12-15 hours/six days a week for many months. Tore down the carb three times before being told that I wouldn't get anymore advice unless I replaced it. Another $300 (that solenoid wiring harness was a bit of a bear to snake around the flywheel), but it didn't fix the problem. The first time I saw "torqued" and "multimeter", I couldn't google fast enough. Boy, I sure was glad for all those videos and bloggers who explained it all and took the time to post torque specs and diagrams.
For anyone who hasn't bought parts since the springtime, they are next-to-impossible to find and the cost is exorbitant. My dealer has said twice "Are you sitting down?" before giving me part prices. Gone are the days of $10 head gaskets and $170 carbs for a Briggs Vanguard. And I got an e-mail from him that said, "Treat that main wiring harness with tender loving care. There are NO substitute parts available for this model."
Oh, and before I'm finished. How does one take a small-engine immersion course from point zero with little-to-no one-on-one help without overthinking? I'll admit that I probably am overthinking a lot of what seems basic to an experienced person. In fact, all I've done for nearly four months is think about these repairs. To the detriment of my family, actually. They'll be glad to have clean laundry and decent meals again, I'm sure, when they find out I'm no longer "overthinking" the mower repairs. My husband is a Stage 4 Cancer patient who is no longer able to help. Means that the rest of us have to care for him and do his work, too. And the cost of the parts is already crazy, so paying a mechanic (if we could have found one) $55/hour is out of the question.
I appreciate all of you who tried to help. And, Rivets, I'm not laughing. It isn't funny.