(yet another) starting problem

I have spent some time reading the FAQ's, searching etc and am still kind of lost so I thought I'd ask, please bare with my (probably) dumb questions.

A little background:
Recently bought a 90 Laredo in great shape as a DD. It has a c-hair over 100k on it and runs great. from day one it was "slow starting" but after doing a little research I found that most poeple have this problem with an older XJ and got to live with it. I put in a new battery for safe measure as the old one was over 7 years old. Still slow starting but I felt a little safer knowing I didn't have an ancient battery in there. By "slow starting" I mean it regularly took 2-3 seconds cranking before it would catch and fire. This didn't change if it was hot or cold.

The scenario:
Last night I drove to the store and had no problems. Drove it home, parked it and this morning went to start it but it did not crank AT all, nothing.

This is the info I have:
-All functions work as they should: Lights, heater, radio, wipers, fuel pump, door buzzer etc all work and seem to have full power ie:lights are NOT dim, wipers go at full tilt etc.

This is what I have checked:
-NSS isn't the problem
-the engine is getting fuel
-tried jump starting it to no avail, switched batteries from another car to no avail.
-banged on the starter for good measure and nothing, no clicking noise--nothing.
-I put a new interstate battery in last week.

A few things that I noticed when it wouldn't start:
-Battery is showing around 10-11v on the dash, slightly lower than it usually does.
-temp gauge jumps up to redline then settles around middle after turning to start. This is weird because for the first 2 weeks I drove it, the temp gauge WOULD NOT budge during startup or operation. I have only driven it 200km around town and on some logging roads since buying it, never pushing it past 2500rpm because I still had to deal with the temp gauge not working and didn't want to overheat it.
-yesterday when I drove it around I noticed the voltmeter seemed a c-hair lower than usual, like maybe it wasn't charging very well. I thought nothing of it because I know the dash readings are pretty iffy. it has a near new looking bosch alt. in there but I can't tell for sure just how old it is because I don't have the service records.

-one other thing: I have a water leak on the passenger "no draft" window which leaks a bit of water onto the floor. I suspect this is the cause of my radio and heater taking a minute to turn on after a rain storm.

So if you have read all of that thank you very much!
Where should I start? I don't have a service manual and am completely new to jeeps.

thanks alot!!

No crank is NOT a CPS problem so don't bother replacing it.

You failed to state what tranny you have. If you are running an automatic, the most likely problem is the NSS Neutral Safety Switch. Try starting it in neutral. If it starts in neutral, that is definately the problem. If it doesn
t, it doesn't rule it out.

You can find the starter relay and ground the terminal with the black wire with a white tracer. That bypasses the NSS.

Do your lights dim when you turn it to the crank position?

I have the AW4 tranny, I tried starting it in neutral but it was a no-go, the jeep is on the street right now(go figure the one time I park it on the street it won't start again making repairs a PITA). I'll check the starter relay tommorow when it is light out.

my interior lights/heater dash doesn't dim when I turn in to crank, and from the reflection off the street it doesn't really look like the headlights are dimming.

just digging through some old posts and read that if you have NO click when you try to start that it is NOT the starter motor.
is there any truth to this?

Normally that is correct, but not always.

One suggestion would be to locate the starter solenoid wire and see if it has power when holding the key to the start position.

You could also take a jumper wire or screwdriver and touch the + terminal on the starter to the starter solenoid stud to see if it cranks.

went out this morning and gave the starter one more good smack "just in case" and it started up. I don't know why it wouldn't start yesterday when I hit it, but it got it started enough to get to the top of the driveway so now I can put a new starter in. Tried it again immediately after I shut it down and no-go.
thanks for your help, glad I didn't have to trace down some electrical problems which was my biggest worry.

The exact same thing happened t my 87. It was slow from the day I bought i, and lasted a year.
After I put in a new starter it starts like a friggin honda, I was amazed. The starter had been dragging for over a year.