Just a little more info/update on this...
They are Bendix mags, timed to 25, to the correct marks. The P-lead was removed, and the mag still didn't work, so I guess that rules the P-lead out. This guy isn't some noob mechanic. I've actually known him personally since about 2004. He has spend his entire career running a maintenance shop that works on GA planes... so he has been around the block a few times. Since i'm not located on the field, and had to drop the plane off, I have only spoke on the phone with him - but I trust that he has done everything to troubleshoot the mag before determining that it needs to be sent out. One more side note, when he first got the plane and ran it for the oil change and compression check, it ran fine. The next time it was fired up, (after the annual) is when the problem showed up...
I'm with you all... It is awfully disconcerting when your mechanic calls and says he "can't get the plane started", when it was dropped off running like a clock. But since I was supposed to be flying over there with a friend the following day... he was just giving me a realistic "update" on the status of the plane so that I could plan my trip over.
I think I just want to convince myself that it might have been something that they did, instead of just catastrophic mag failure.. so that they will cover the costs. I doubt that's the case, however. We shall see when it gets sent out to the mag shop. I'll keep this thread updated as I learn more.
I guess on the positive side of things... I didn't have a mag failure in flight, and now I will likely have one freshly overhauled mag, not two that are on the same interval.