I've got the wire made up. I had a hard time finding a spade connector
that would crimp correctly to an 8 gauge wire. Am I correct in assuming
that I don't need to solder these connections, given that if they short
the solder is going to melt anyhow? I double heat-shrinked everything and
used the correct crimping tool, so hopefully that's good enough. I don't
mind taking the wire apart and soldering everything if everyone thinks
that would be better.

I noticed a slight drain on one of the circuits and traced it to the
coil. Should I assume that this is correct?
thanks,
chris