Glad to hear the fuse was the problem but you may not be out of the woods yet.
1) You said your volt meter was pegged while you were running so there still may be a charging system issue, that actually blew the fuse. I'm unaware of any unregulated 16 amp charging system so double check that.
2) Does your tach now work and what is your charging volts? You should be 12.5-13 volts at idle and no more than 14.5 at high speed.
3) Don't use WD40 on a starter bendix, its not a true lubricant but a solvent. Too much of it can migrate down into the starter and contaminate the comutater and brushes. Use a couple of drops of 30W oil on the bendix thread and just roll it up and down, thats it.
4) For the emergency starting issue, disconnect the big red harness plug, not the fuse as you mentioned.
5) Obviously carry spare fuses for the future but I doubt the starter is the issue. you need to check, clean or replace every connection on this engine starting with the solenoid in the engine pan, battery cables and harness plug. Buy a volt/ohms meter, learn how to use it and start checking this system or it will leave you again.
