Help with no start / no crank

[a-train]

Hoping for some advice.  I have a 1980 Trans Am.  The last time I drove it, which was last fall, it started with no issues.  Last week I was prepping for a show and went to start it and had no crank.  No sound from the starter at all.  Checked battery, cables, everything seemed good.  I thought maybe the started kill on my alarm had went bad so I checked the starter kill relay.  One side had power, but not the other.  I made a jumper wire with a 20A fuse to bypass the starter kill relay.  Still no crank and popped the fuse right away.

I pulled the starter and the solenoid terminal showed grounded to the case.  Dead short.  I ordered another starter and got it put on today.  Same issue. 

Where I messed up was not checking the solenoid before I installed it.  So now, I’m trying to figure out if my new starter is bad or if I have something grounded out somewhere.

Under the hood looks ok.

Any ideas?

[aussieta]

put a socket on the crank bolt and check that your engine can turn over by hand
inspect the wiring to the starter motor for mouse nibbles

[rkellerjr]

Use a screwdriver and hot start using the starter. That will bypass everything and show that the battery is holding power to start the car.

[aussieta]

Use a screwdriver and hot start using the starter. That will bypass everything and show that the battery is holding power to start the car.

what if the starter is shorted out
and you weld your screwdriver in there