Help! Electrical issues!

[skyhook]

That sounds like a bad battery cable or clamp or corrosion at the point of chassis ground. Replace both battery cables as they're likely OEM and need it anyway.

I tend to agree, splice open a section of the cables and take a look at the copper strands for corrosion,
other than that, check both ends of your cables for good clean connections.

 

[brown40]

It could be a bad ignition switch; went through a similar problem on my first tractor that ended up being in the actual switch--was intermittent, then consistent, then just stopped working. Try pulling it and seeing if its working 100% in specs when you check to see if your panel hit something.