IT'S ALIVE! IT'S ALIVE!
Spent the day tracing the whole wiring harness checking for worn through/frayed spots. Only wire with a problem was the wire from the solenoid to the starter. The PO had wrapped duct tape around the bare spot.
Got that fixed correctly then made sure the ground had good contact. Installed the new ignition switch, the new coil, ran a new ignition wire to the coil and double checked everything. Turned the key and she fired right up. Ran it for a couple minutes and no problems. Actually went out and ran a few rounds with the mower till the mule drive belt roached itself.
Turned out the problem was a bad coil. Thanks everyone for giving suggestions that helped sniff out the problem. Glad to get her running so I can move on to the next project. They keep lining up like little kids.