1998 Ford Escort Intermittent Starting - 1998 Escort ZX2

2 Car Pros

Hey there, I'm looking for a little help on this issue. The problem is that the starter operates intermittently. To be more specific, I'll turn the key to 'start' and the starter won't crank... sometimes. If I cycle the key several times the starter will sometimes kick in.

Now, for what I've done so far:
-The Starter has been replaced
-I've already troubleshot the ignition switch and I don't see any issue in it's operation (when I would turn the key to 'start' the switch would close as it should even though the starter wouldn't crank)
-The battery has been replaced
-I've cleaned the battery and starter terminals

I was looking around this forum to see if my car had some sort of starter relay that may have been failing but I've read from other forums that the relay is integral with the starter & solenoid assembly. I wonder if the starter cable harness may have a break in it or something though I don't see any evidence of chafing or kinking.

Any help or direction here would be much appreciated. Thank you for all your service!

-Mike