Greg, 1st I have to wonder why the guy had to fix it last year. Those Honda generators should be rock solid. It makes me think that the controller probably has a problem in it. For the price, one would think that there is some overload/short circuit protection in the controller. Honestly, the manual is very good(surprisingly) in regards to troubleshooting the generator. Not so much the control box, though. I would think that Atlanta has a bunch of Honda generator repair shops. With the info in the manual I downloaded they should easily be able to isolate and fix or swap out the generator. I would send the controller off to S-R for checkout. Alternatively, send it all to them. Are they really outrageous? Even more than Auburn? Is this a university electrical/mechanical class shop? If so, why so much cost?
If you run into a dead end, it really does look simple to check out, BUT you are still slaved to the manufacturer for parts. Let me know if I can be of help.
Does the generator smoke when not connected to the controller? Is the generator started thru the controller, or manually, or with external battery and key?