2010 5.7L 4x4 crew cab won't start

Hello all,
New member. I live in the waaaaay northern part of California in Modoc County. This truck is the first Toyota I've owned. I'm a Ford lover first but have owned Chevy and Dodge. I have to say that I LOVE this truck model. It's a work truck. Haul horses, a 31 ft fifth wheel trailer, or whatever I've needed to haul. It's a beast with plenty of power, and a very comfy ride. It had 62k miles when I got it, and I've put 100k miles on it since then. So currently about 165k miles on it. I owned a 97 Dodge V10 4x4 6 speed etc. that truck was also a beast! The power torque and speed were phenomenal. This Toyota truck is the only one I've owned that comes close to that Dodge and maybe even exceeds the power. It's an automatic so a bit different when accelerating but it's an awesome ride!
The biggest issues I've experienced are replacing the wiper blade motor, and I luckily experienced an engine failure that put me in safe mode while hauling horses. The issue was under a 10 yr Toyota factory recall covered thing that I was 2 months shy of expiring. It was a 3200.00 repair. I forget the issue but maybe some kind of exhaust and or vacuum sensor issue that Toyota knew about. After that, 2 yrs down the road and 75k miles later now this problem.
So I've trouble shooted this issue and starter relay switch was good and battery is good. Battery only 1 yr old. I can't even visualize the starter from top of engine or even crawling under the truck. So can't thump starter or check any wiring at all.
Of course if it were a Chevy or Ford would be piece of cake to replace starter lol.
When turning key on, I don't hear click, whirl. I hear what I think is the fuel pump when key turned on towards the back around the fuel cap area. All dash lights come on etc. No clicking like it sounds with dead battery
What started first was difficulty getting key out of ignition. The shifter wouldn't fully go into park, and that pesky little round rubber disk attached to gear shift appeared to be hindering shifting into park. So I watched a video, removed the entire components on the shift console and removed the disk. It was warped and catching up in there. Someone said they may have dropped a quarter in there so I attributed that shifting issue to that.
Before doing the above, the truck started intermittently not wanting to start. Then wouldn't start so I began trouble shooting beginning with the shift console. Next I checked relay switch and it was good. Battery a year old, had 12 v on charger indicator but charged it anyway. Next hooked the battery up to another vehicle and tried jump starting just because. None of the above worked.
I watched a video on changing starter and there is no way that it's an easy home job. There is no Toyota dealer within 100 miles of me. I'm very rural. Local mechanic charges 136.00 an hour labor. This is roughly a 6 hour job due to the complex method to get to the starter. The actual starter is around 285-300. Then I have to have it towed to town 7 miles away. I'm looking at around 1200.00 to replace my starter!! Whaaaaat??!! That's the main draw back with working on Toyota vehicles.
So I'm back to thinking I may have to do it at home. I know going into it from front left tire and exhaust manifold area is probably easier than taking half the front left engine compartment out. Plus, thought I might need to find and hire a little Japanese man with tiny hands to help. Notorious tiny areas to access and big hands don't work( saw that in the video lol) Any thoughts or suggestions?? If I could hot wire the sucker I totally would haha!

 

I paid $1,000 to replace my starter- just wanted it done. Happened at 175k miles for me.
I’m finding anytime you take a vehicle into the shop these days- it starts at $1,000…
Ridiculous since I used to do all this work myself..

 

Oh wow! Yeah mines at about 165k still not fixed. Can't yet afford the 1300 it's going to cost.

 

So not getting a click?
Try this first
If you have a short wire or paperclip you can try to jump it from the relay. If it doesn't work you can try reaching the starter from behind the heat shield. Passenger wheel there is a covered/protected harness that leads to the starter on the frame rail.

Try releasing the telescoping handle and push, pull and move up and down the steering wheel while trying to turn over. It may start doing this, then lock it in place. Until you get home then further troubleshoot wiring.

Starter can be done in the driveway with basic tools. I did it without lifting the engine, nor removing exhaust manifold.

 

You can remove the heat shield and check that the trigger wire is fully seated on the starter. Easy to get to and check as @blackdemon_tt stated. I had no starts because of the trigger wire being patially seated.

 

Had to replace my starter at around the same mileage. I did it myself without removing the exhaust manifold. Once I had the old one out it started working again. I think it was just the solenoid on the starter that was causing the problem but if you're going through all the work you might as well replace it with an OEM and never have to worry about it again. Mine was a bit harder than other models because I have the external trans cooler. There's lines that make it more difficult. If you're handy and own tools you can do it yourself. Otherwise I would just pay the guy but I would only go with a Toyota starter.