Turns out the starter was the problem all along. The original battery was also bad as well but that was a red herring in this case.
It died on me Monday afternoon, just wouldn't turn over at all. As luck would have it I was parked at a convenience store literally 150 yards from the car repair shop I've patronized for many years. Walked over there and the guy walked back with me with a portable jump starter. He verified that the new battery was fully charged so we figured it had to be the starter.
Felt kind of silly loading it up on the tow truck just to haul it across the street and down one block but it would have been awfully dangerous to push it along that busy street. Anyway, they ordered the part Monday afternoon and installed it Tuesday morning. Even though it was listed as a three hour job they had it in before lunch and changed my oil as well.
When I turned the key it gave that familiar energetic cranking and started right up.
Big shout out to Pro Auto Care on Broadway Ave, Boise. They've taken good care of this vehicle for the last 17 years. This job wasn't cheap but I'm confident it was done well and at a reasonable price - guaran-damn-teed it would have been a hell of a lot more at a Honda dealer.
