figured this was a newb related question...

went to start my truck today, fired right up, went for gas and i had nothign when i turned the key. sometimes the normal fast clicking noise that sounds like a dead battery, but it did no good to jump the truck, after fiddling around with all my terminals i figured id just catch it in gear and figure this out later, so i did that and later on i found out that my battery is good, alt. is good (tossing aout 14v) and my hey is getting the propper 12v, now when i contact the 2 solenoid(sp?) posts together the truck starts just fine, what do you guys think the problem is, its a 78 f150

anyone?

It sounds like you have a bad starter solenoid, i would start there first.

I'm not positive that a 78 has it, but there should be a starter fuse in the old box. Check the single wire on the front of the solenoid, If it's getting power while the key is in the START position then you've got a bad solenoid.

Check to make sure the starter is bolted up tight. You may have a bad ground.

solenoid was just changed when this started happening, thats the first place i went, not sure about a fuse but ill take a look. if the starter was loose dont you thing it would give me problems starting when i conttact the solenoid posts?