Ahh well I don't want to say don't count your chickens Jon but I have been having winch Armageddon just recently with exactly that set up. It has given me sleepless nights trying to track it down. I also have the Lodar remote in that equation too.
I was doing some post off road maintenance and had been cleaning off the bumper etc. finishing off I went to wind in
The solenoid just clicked once and that was it. I wired in the lead remote and sometimes it worked and sometimes not. I stripped the winch and cleaned and fettled it. Hot wired it ran fine.
I had Lodar on the phone and they basically proved the system was fine, ok only the TG Thompson to go. I was showing 12v at the input side but just couldn't they the winch to run. I was at the point of changing the solenoid when I decided to jump the cut off with a jump lead. Whoa! Everything's workings
So I stripped the solenoid and it looked ok in there but with a little blackening on the contacts. I cleaned them up and used some electrical. On tact grease on them. Reassembled - as dead as a Dodo's uncle.
Ok by this time, I was counting down the time to leaving for the airport. Ok so I stripped it again and wiped off the grease.
Bingo, everything working 100% like a new one. Spent hours on it. I guess I had voles but no hams coming up the cable. It really wasn't very dirty at all but stopped the winch dead. I'd been having some tick tick tick issues In a deep mud hole the other week. I just spooled out some rope to wash it off and never got to wind it back on.
Like you I have sealed it a little better but I have to say it really was the last component I had thought would cause me grief. That being said, I do think its a good item. When you consider it next to those rally style plastic ones. Even the Durite ones. I had high opinions of those until I took one apart. They are utter rubbish inside. And in fact I think they could possibly fail dangerously. The insulation inside is so poor that I think there could be a short very easily.
I need to fit one for my rear winch now.
C