Can be internal or external.

sounds like you have a problem in switch, but not sure if you need a lock smith or an Auto electrician. unless you are good at electrics & can test yourself.

Rick I can't see where you said what year the sporty is and it's been 17 years since I owned one, a 96 model, so I may be way off but is there a main circuit breaker? I seem to remember something about them having this sort of problem from time to time, it resets itself and can fail, I know I used to incorporate them into running the headlight off the alternator output for a brighter quartz halogen light way back then. 

your photography skills need working on rick.

Please don’t cut any wires!!  Get a sparky in. 

Hey BB....he's "pushed a pin through the 3 wires" - that's a new one for me!

electrical problems are a pain in the arse.

follow the manual and stick with genuine HD parts and you will get it fixed easy

I thought I'd ask, what sort of Harley is it & is it Carb or EFI & what year?

there would not be vibration there as rubber mounted, the motor might shake on the rubber mounts at idle, but i's isolated from the frame, were that switch is mounted. as it did start when you pushed down a hill & it fired, that indicates battery has enough power to power the ecu, just before you spend money on anything, go right over all the wiring especially under the bike, look for a flat wire. first. once you eliminate that then replace other parts. but definitely sounds like it's an electrical prob. ( I miss my old kick start Shovel ! simple )

Seems there is still a circuit breaker in there, you sure it's ok Rick?

reading your first post on the issue reminds me of my mates 2017 CVO breakout issue he had

lights & everything came on, went to start, seemed like flat battery. put on trickle charger and left overnight, same thing
put the battery from my softail in it and it would not start, starter would click but battery works fine in my bike and still there

no blown fuses or anything obvious.
Suspecting the starter I bridged the starter with a cable and it would crank over but still not fire

took to harley under warranty and ended up being the regulator

 

Battery earth ok? Might look ok and be tight but could be corroded and not earthing maybe, I don't think that wiring diagram I put up earlier is right either, will see if I can find the right one on the web.

Try that mate, 2010 sportster.

great news Rick !

3 pages of mindless entertainment though

Great fault-finding, brain-storming, cooporation & selfless information exchanging in the technical section of HD Forums. Apparently some don't like this sorta thing ;-)

I'm pleased that you didn't have to cut out / pull down / replace the ignition switch Rick. That could have been a real pain. Imagine, "then" finding out it was simply a loose battery terminal.

Fault-finding is a learning experience, you always gain something from it all.

well done