I had the same situation in a boat about twenty years ago which had a Kermath engine installed. We essentially did everything you just mentioned, including making sure to swap the two wires on the coil. You also need to remove the residual magnetism in your generator which gets charging started in the right direction. Find your voltage regulator and use a short jumper wire , hold one end on the A1 terminal, and touch the other end to the F terminal
two or three times. There will be some sparking. Once you've done this you should be ready to go.
