No Spark from Ignition... kill circuit at fault?

So when the weather turned warm and it was time to mow, I got the craftsman mower out but had no luck starting the 6.75hp Briggs & Stratton; I was getting gas, but not spark.
I ended up replacing the plug and coil (gapping both to the manufacturers spec.) but still no spark, I started to look into that little wire that runs from the coil to the kill/brake switch mechanism.
If I'm understanding correctly with the mower in the running state, the kill switch circuit is open and allows the ignition to function, once the brake handle is released, the circuit is closed and stops the ignition.
Note from the picture, the kill switch mechanism is in the "run" state and get continuity between the two points, the same as when the switch is in the "stop" state.
I should also note that I removed the wire completely (at both ends) and I still got continuity from the wire tab on the coil and the kill switch (red probe in picture).
So the question I have to ask is: what am I missing? I'm under the impression that the sole purpose of that little wire is to stop the ignition.
Does the coil need to be insulated from the engine some how? I didn't see anything when I took the old one off. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

When switch is in stop position it grounds the coil terminating the spark. If you remove the wire in the picture your coil should fire and continue to run till it is grounded.

Is there a insulator in the mechanism that rotates that may have failed?

Re: No Spark from Ignition... kill circuit at fault? *SOLVED-ish*

Thank you for your suggestions, The engine did indeed start with the wire disconnected; there was nothing obvious about the switch that could be causing a short, but I removed it and cleaned it up.
As I attached the metal housing that goes over the flywheel, I noticed that it came really close to the kill switch, perhaps somehow it came in contact with the wire that caused the short? but I didn't see any "a-ha!" cause, and prior to this incident I had never disassembled anything on this mower before.

Thanks again!