[xlr8or]

Mike,
Glad you found it. Here's a similar story for you with same symptoms:
After a short in the wiring under the dash of my truck caused a little smoke it seemed to have the same problems. When trying to find the problem I was using a remote starter switch under the hood. All seemed well until I tried to start it from the dash. Figured a wire fried somewhere but I couldn't find it. Replaced the whole harness with a new painless unit and had the same problem. Replaced the switch and all was well in the world.