you know you can pop the diode real quick in the alternator by unhooking the battery with it running.
so it ran with the cable off? trya new battery...
i still suspect an alternator problem if the light is on.
if youve had a battery sitting for 5 years pitch it. it wont be any good.

 

Yes, you can pop the diode if you pull the ground terminal while it is running. If you read the post, it says to pull the positive terminal.
If you pull the ground the car will quit because you eliminate battery and altenator ground all at once. The suddenchange in voltage, +/-, or spark at the terminal when you pull the ground is what pops the diode.

A bad battery will still throw the CEL. It will read over or under charge. More than likely it will read an overcharge because the regulator will be commanding all to try to charge the dead battery. Try running the car without a battery. Check engine light bigger than life.

You need to put a "known good" battery in the car. If this does not help, go back and check for continuity in the fusible link. If the fusible link is good,take the starter out and bench test it. You mayend up finding that the bendix and/or the stator in the starter is binding and it takes the extra bump from jumper cables to overcomeit. May be time to replace the starter.

Sorry, I didn't know that you were in Canada. Sounds like a business venture waiting to happen. Autozone in Canada...hmmmmm!

 

They have their version of it...forgot what its called though.