I replaced the fuel tap (it was a little disappointing that it was so easy after all the stress of waiting for it) and fuel hose in the ET, put in a new air filter for good measure, put some gas in, and then tried to start it. The battery was dead. So I tried to kick start it a few times, no luck. Then Dwayne tried it, no luck.

He said the exact words I didn’t want to hear.

“There must be something else wrong with it.”"Noooooooooo!!!” I whined, even though sadly I was thinking the same thing. I stubbornly kept trying to kick start it. I’ve never kick started a scooter in my life, so I had no idea if I was doing it right (I had the manual with me so I had little drawings to guide me). But I had to keep trying.Kick. Kick. Kick. Kick. Kick. Kick. Kick. [rest] Kick. Kick. Kick. Kick. Kick. Kick. Kick. [rest] Kick. Kick. Kick. Kick. Kick. Kick. Kick. Kick. Kick. [switch legs] Kick. Kick. Kick. Kick. Kick. Kick. Kick. [rest, switch back] Kick. Kick. Kick. Kick. Kick. Kick. Kick. [rest] Kick. Kick. Kick. Kick. Kick.

And then I heard a faint puh-dub-dub.

Kick. Kick. puh-dub-dub-dub. There it is again!

Kick. puh-dub-dub-dub-dub.

Kick. puh-DUB DUB DUB DUB puh DUB DUB DUB DUB DUB!!!!

YAY!!!!!!! Clouds of exhaust never smelled so good!

All the lights worked once it was running, thankfully. I rode it around for awhile and got a bit of a charge. I disconnected the negative wire from the alarm from the negative terminal of the battery and instead grounded it on the frame, even though I can’t figure out why it would drain the battery. Checked all the wires, everything looked the same. I checked all the fuel lines to make sure they were all still connected and put the body panels back on, then the rubber back on and voila. Today will be the true test, when I ride it more than a half-mile away from home. Keep your fingers crossed…Many thanks to Bob, the folks over at 2StrokeSmoke and Michael (pink Miss Vicki Vespa builder, below) for advice and guidance.