1998 Mercury 40hp no spark

Hi all , I'm hoping someone can help me out . I have an 1998 40hp Merc that ran perfectly until it cut out and died while running at 25 mph . It shut off like someone flicked a switch . I've eliminated fuel as an issue . The engine has no spark, although I have seen a very small and intermittent spark while testing for spark holding the wire about 1/16 from ground 99 % of the time I have no spark . I,ve replaced the ignition key switch , stator , trigger and regulator . i have verified that the lanyard switch is good but still have no spark . Can someone suggest my next move ? any help is appreciated.

Thanks , Dave

Bump this once .I'm at a total loss here

Disconnect the blk/yell wire from switchbox and retest. If no spark get a meter and DVA adapter,download the CDI ignition testing manual and test.

Thanks for the reply .I tried disconnecting the B/Y wire with no luck . Multi meter test showed the stator to be bad and I replaced the trigger while the flywheel was off . The wires going to the regulator were melted together so I replaced the regulator also . The wires in the harness appear to be fine also. I checked the coils and they tested OK as per the manual . From all test results this engine should start ? Am I missing something ?

Thanks again , Dave