[barnstuf]

In your second post you said you replaced the meter because its calibration was way off. I assume you mean ammeter and it may have shown a substantial discharge because the cutout points were stuck. This would kill the battery. When it started at a later time maybe the cutout points were no longer closed. Also any time you file the points run a pice of paper between them to clear debris. The old timers found a paper matchbook cover to be ideal.