After getting towed to the shop, CMcN listened to my explanation and thought it may be that the circuit for the remote start was "jammed" open, so to speak.

Hooking up a battery charger, it was evident that there was a large power draing happening, however, there was enough juice to drive some low level electricals. I used the remote start to kill the previous start command and that solved the problem.

We could actually hear the "load" hum drop right off from the charger when the start command was killed.

towing and shop charges = tuition

Many thanks for all your replies. Super forum.