Thanks Simon.
All stock parts.
With the ground wire that is connected to the trem claw; there is a cut-out slot on the claw that I assumed was for the ground wire. Is it expected that the wire is soldered, or is it OK to simply clamp the wire in the slot?
I did use a thicker gauge wire than the kit wire. I also do not think my soldering iron would be able to heat the slot in the claw to a high enough temperature so as to melt the solder, and therefore I expect it would produce a dry joint. So, I clamped it in place! I do have a low resistance between the string and the ground at the jack as measured with a multimeter.