1986 F250 351W, ran it yesterday, good and warm. Shut it down, then went to restart-sounded like battery dead (new one)...an hour later, started fine.

Starter shot?

 

Sounds like the timing may be advanced too much possibly?

 

I checked it-it seems about 10BTDC.
When I went to start it, it barely turned over...I checked battery, read 12.25 volts

 

Three main causes of hot start issues that go away after the engine cools down. Loose connection(s) on the battery cables, timing advanced a bit too far, and starter on it's way out.
These aren't the only items that can cause this issue, just the most common causes.

 

Battery is new, but I've drained it a bunch of times between having a loose connection and then a broken wire I couldn't see, and then running a plow at night on my driveway but not being able to run the truck enough to charge it up, I wonder if my battery is damaged. I may have it checked.

The connections are all tight.

The starter was on the truck when I got it. Once I get the battery checked, I think I'll know.