Thanks for replying. I actually ran 12 volts directly from the battery to the positive terminal on the switch. If I do that the motors work fine, and the switch operates like it's supposed to. And it doesn't pull the voltage down on the battery, other than what you'd expect running the motor.
I suspect it is as CA Traveler suggested: a poor connection somewhere. Just finding it will be the issue I imagine.
I do have a wire tracer, so I will give that a shot. Thanks for the suggestion, never even thought about it.
