No, you are not wrong about the polarization. But, if you read the tutorial I put the link in for, Rain tells you which lead should be black and which should be red. His photos clearly show the colors on the wiring block too. So even if yours is gone, you can repaint them or just follow his pictures.
I have the same situation with the 15-91 I have to rewire. All the insulation is gone. I'll have to follow Rain's tutorial on which color goes where. Not that hard.
Joe