I went to my downloaded Service Manual and printed out pages from section 7-14 thru 7-16 describing troubleshooting sequence for ignition electrical problems. My Dad and I went through all the steps (except one where I didn't have the dynamic spark tester described) and found that the ignition PICKUP COIL was defective (according to my ohm meter).
I went to local dealer and ordered the parts -- pickup coil, gasket, damaged screw, oil drain plug w/ gasket -- and will get back next weekend on this.

After I discovered the above, I remembered a Park Avenue I had that would run badly and then die out when I reached a certain point in my commute until it got worse. It turned out to be the crank sensor warming up to the point of failure! Same type of device as on my R* Hope this it!

BTW -- All the interior wire retainer screws and the oil plug had loctite on them!! I eventually heated them to get them out except the oil plug. I'll work on that this week. The Y parts manager said to not heat the engine case to loosen the locktite on the oil plug because the case is cast and it will ruin the threads making matters worse. However, I think some heating is advisable, or it's not coming off!
Also, the pickup coil is listed on the stator page from the blowup/parts list on the Yamaha's listing. Total cost so far not including new synthetic oil and filter = $80.00
Rayjay