Thanks Garth, I was thinking of trying that, was just waiting to see if someone brought it up before I tried it.
Got the car up in the air this morning and got that starter swapped out, works great now.
So right now I'm on my third official test drive. Driving to work, which is around 1/2 hour each way and mostly highway.
Love flipping that switch and watching the rpm drop, the car gets quieter which is nice too.