Thanks for that beast, the bike is a few hrs away and i havent found time to diagnose but i will get to it.

Every one I've seen has had a wire spring clip that expands out in a groove in the cv inner end and half engages inside the diff. You give them a sharp bump out with a lever and the wire spring compresses into the groove in the cv and it slides out. If you lever slowly they seem to jamb and not come out. You get a big screwdriver or lever in behind them though and give it a sharp bump with the palm of your hand and they pop right out out. Some it's hard to get the lever right behind the cv because the inner face is tapered and the lever doesn't grip. On those ones you put the lever in and jamb it as hard behind the taper as hard as you can and start levering hard, then use an eight ounce hammer to tap the opposite side of the cv housing in a sort of outwards direction as much as possible and they come out. If you look in the manual it will say if there is something that needs undoing, but if it says to use a slide puller or lever then it's as I say. If you have real trouble, and the rubber boots are already buggered, you can fasten a chain around the outer cv and use a big weight on the other end of the chain as a slide hammer/bumper, but that risks damaging the wire clip or circlip that's attaching the outer cv to the shaft. It's better to bump them out with a lever. If neither of those ways work, you can undo the clips holding the rubber boot at either end, slide the boot along the shaft, then there might be a circlip that can be compressed with long nosed pliers in near where the shaft meets the cv center part. The manual will say if it's like that though, and it's rare for a quad axle. Some cars are like it though. That thing will be a bump out job I'm sure. Check the manual. If it's bump out, do it just as I've described.. A bit of leverage then a sharp bump with the palm of your hand, or lever then tap with a hammer. It's a technique that needs mastering.

Done and gone, with the wires repaired back on the solenoid and the groud fixed fired right up! Had to clear a bunch of codes but good to go now.

Idaho is a nice state, i lived there for a year back in the 70s, cold and a lot of snow, still have family there they love it.