turns out it was the stator in the alternator. when i asked the guy why it took a dump, as it was rewound just 2 years ago, he simply said "too much load on the alternator".

i didn't get a chance to talk to him more, but what causes too much load? sometimes when i have to crank it a bunch to get gas to the carb, the needle on the ammeter hovers just below the first mark on the positive side, but quickly comes back to just above mid line as the battery recharges.

i've never had any indicator that there was too much load on the alternator. besides the MSD box, everything else is stock: am radio, headlights, etc...

any thoughts? i'd rather not burn up another stator in two years time...