88flatbed

hey everyone, just picked up my first yota a month or two ago an 88 v-6 3.0(yippee right?), after all my buddies got one, figured i join in on the fun.
i took it out wheeling a couple times and parked it for a bit.

now it has problems starting.

- already came with a pushbutton starter which worked fine at first.
-can be pop started and runs fine after
-the starter will "thunk" but wont spin, seems to draw very hard on the electrical
- just for ˟˟˟˟˟˟ i bumped the starter whilst it was running, and it instantly shuts the truck off (every time). i find this to be the most peculiar symptom

-it appears that the connectors to the starter relay are new( im assuming it didnt fix their problem, hence why they installed a push button)
-has been drivin thru water once or twice since i have had it.

i guess i dont know where to start, i dont know how to test the coil.
i also need to know how to test the solenoid to the starter,

where to start?
tried searching but my truck has been jerry rigged enough that there is too many varibles and i couldnt find anyone who had the exact same situation.

this truck is just a toy, but it rides so nice after i fix this i plan on it being my dd. getting bored with the vw turbo scene and its nice to be riding in something that doesnt scrape on speed bumps haha.

its a great truck 3inch body lift, ifs, a beautiful flatbed, bucket seats (meh), some underbody lighting, looks as if it was an auto at one time,cute little tachometer (lol).

pics if your nice