connections were all fine, ignition was off, and the lights worked.
my old battery had been sitting on the charger for a couple of months. put the old battery on the bike and it started right up. new battery(if it was new when i bought it, was purchased on 4/13/06)has been on the charger for almost 2 hours. still showing "charging" on the indicator lamp.

I'm going to pack up the new battery and head over to the dealer/shop for a 'what gives' inquiry...not the best place to be on a summer holiday weekend, but rather there then stuck on the road somewhere...

thanks for the input guys.

holding off on the swearing and crying for now...

mert