C32AMG & Joe,
I know that Joe's is an 80' 300SD and what I am dealing with is a 300D but I find it hard to believe that the tranny's kickdown solenoid design would be reverse of one another. My solenoid is definitely supplied + voltage over the single wire coming from the kickdown switch under the accellerator.

Just think about it, I have removed my solenoit and it only has a single conductor... and it bench tested just fine when +12 was applied to the wire and the solenoid's body was connected to negative. It is my belief that any electrical component with a single wire should receive +12 over that wire... unless the component is somehow isolated from the car's chassis!
Sam