Yes, I think there's actually a short (to ground) in the charging coil in my stator.
Cool of you to suggest the parts from your parts engine. Since my engine is kick-start only, would the plate from yours work? The pictures on the following web page make me think there is a difference in the center-hole diameter (33mm for the electric-start version versus 18mm for the kick-only version):
http://www.chinese-parts-canada.com/magneto.html
I suppose I could just swap in the charging coil from your plate?
Mark