Oil gauge on the old girl actually still works.  Off / on switch works so its not going to run away from us but I agree safety should always be on your mind when working on these things.  Had an uncle get crushed by an old tractor that he turned over while it was in gear.  He lived but it wasn't any fun for him.  We put a new fuel filter on the CAT before we tried starting it up but it may still be a good idea to remove and clean the tank up.  It was removed and patched when I owned it but as you know was sitting idle for a few years so I imagine condensation has taken a toll on it again.  Thanks for trying to help us out.  At this point we haven't tried anything since my son's first post but we will get back to it soon.