Thanks (and apologies) to all...

It WAS a stuck glow plug relay -- I must have been really stupid that day that I "eliminated" that theory.

My alt/V.R. is fine. No idea what those "jagged protrusion" are or why my V. R. looked so gnarly and wonky, but it's all back together and charging the battery, as long as I remember to unplug the gp relay...

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1980 300TD