Time to reveal the stator. Removed the nut and lock washer from the shaft. thread in the flywheel puller. Took a bit of finagaling to get it to start but the left hand threads in the wheel appear to be intact.
Did not bother to put a wrench on it, went straight to the big boy tool. Set on low. Pulled the wheel off with no drama at all. Nice.
Stator appears crusty but basically intact.
Going a little less Cro-Magnon on the stator screws...
Stator is out.
With the ugly magneto off the engine, the crank now turns nice and smooth! So far no sign of water visits to the crank cavity. Still have to figure out why she doesn't want to shift...