[Erik_in_Hoyt]

so far I've checked all my connections & wiring.
jumped the tractor to make sure it really would start.
after jump starting it I ran it for about 45 minutes so if the alternator was going to do anything it would, turned it off, then tried to restart immediately after - and it wouldn't.
then I hooked it up to a charger and let that run it's diagnostic - and it said the battery was OK. (did not remove the battery from the tractor)
When fully charged, the battery supplied 12.8 V (not under load)
Then I waited 3 days to see if it would hold a charge -- and it did. Started right up like there had never been a problem. This suggests to me the battery does not have a bad cell.

At this point my next step is to haul the tractor the 20+ miles into town and have the charging system checked at an auto parts store, because they provide the service free - and that should give me the information I need to talk to the folks I bought it from for my warranty repair claim, since they're 150+ miles from home and I'd be pretty unhappy if I got it there only to find out I had a bad cell on the battery or a bad connection.