Yay! Reporting back I had good success with the "test" motor! Your tut really gave me some confidence in working on it because it is an almost exact replica to the one you showed. After getting the new wires on I used the CRC Lectra-Motive spray to clean it really well. It seems to have taken care of the oily bits. After allowing it to dry I used rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab to carefully clean the commutator. That did a pretty good job without me having to try sanding it. I got the motor back on the machine last night and I would call it a success! Now I have some good practice in before working on my green 15.
*I just realized that the saved motor/saved machine is the one in my avatar! Pinky thanks you!