Hey steve,
as a fellow chappy owner(I also got the scoot not running, but had a nice fat spark) no, a dead battery would not stop it from startin, mine was dead 2, I would take off the side cover, (flywheel side) & chk out the points & make sure they're clean, specially if it has been sittin, jus turn the flywheel till ya see em open, spray a quick blast of carb cleaner on em (not 2 much)then stick a matchbook cover between em, turn the flywheel till they close, then drag the matchbook cover out of em, do this a few times, ya'll b surprised how much gunk gets built up in there! & how dirty they get! not promisin ya nething, but it's a good starting point, hope it gets ya on
the right track -------twosmoke
