Doug, I have to say my experience has been a lot like Jim's even way back in the late 1970s when I just started out with FEs. I have never been able to get a stock starter to start a strong FE engine (and by strong I mean around 400 HP) once the engine is hot. Mine always did exactly what Jim has described; you hold the key and the starter turns the engine about a quarter turn and stops, and then does it again, and again. After a few times like this the engine will usually start, but not always. If you let the engine cool down for 45 minutes, the starter will spin the engine over like its brand new.
I went to ridiculous extremes to solve this problem back in the late 1970s and early 1980s in my 68 Shelby, going so far as to run 2-0 cable from the battery to the solenoid and then down to the starter, and hooking the ground connection of the battery to one of the starter bolts. I even bought a 1200 amp semi truck battery, weighing 140 pounds, built a framework for it in the trunk of the car, and ran 2-0 cable to the front. Throw in about 5 or 6 different starters from different manufacturers, including an Accel high torque starter that was available back in the day, different starter solenoids, wrapping the headers to keep in heat, wrapping the starter to keep out heat, etc. etc., and I never got satisfactory results on a hot engine.
To me, the gear reduction mini starters solved a chronic problem with FE engines, and they are one of the major improvements available for the FE. It baffles me how people like you and Ross can get the stock starters to work so well, when I have had nothing but problems with them. Go figure...