I'm lost trying to follow this thread, so I'm going to start fresh. Hope no one minds or takes offense. With the battery connected, do you have 12V at the fuse block? There are two wires at the positive (battery) side of the starter solenoid. They have fusible links right at the terminals, so make sure you have power to the fuse block. If you do, and you have the plug for the tranny jumpered, you should hear the solenoid click when you turn the key to start. If not, make sure you have the red with blue stripe wire on the terminal closest to the battery terminal. It's easy to accidently swap the start and coil wires at the solenoid, and nothing happens if you do. With a meter, check to make sure you have 12V on the terminal, with the wire connected and the key turned to "Start". If you have 12V and the solenoid isn't engaging, you need to check to make sure the solenoid is grounded to the inner fender (mounting screws are tight), or else you may have to replaced the solenoid. If the solenoid is engaging and you don't have 12V on the small terminal closest to the starter cable, you need to replace the solenoid. If all that is good and you don't have 12V at the coil, you need to check the connection for the engine harness (flat plug with three wires), to see if you have 12V there. Let me know what you find and I'll try to help more. Again, sorry if I'm having you look at something you've already done.
Steve