Well, don't feel bad. I'm still making some kind of mistake even though I've removed the push-pull pots from the circuit. here's what I have now...and it STILL turns the volume off when I turn down EITHER pot...and what's more, when I touch the cover for the mudbucker, I get static. Seems like there's another ground wire needed.
Stepping back, since whenever I turn either pickup down it turns down the volume of both pickups, it seems like they're wired in series...so that either pot can kill the circuit. I really thought this was wiring in parallel so the volume pots can work independently.
Does anyone see what basic mistake I'm making? This seems SO SIMPLE......but right now it sounds like crap and I can't balance the pickups wth the volume controls. Frustration is setting in.