The starter motor continued to leak after the fluid was at the proper level and so last week we raised the forklift and removed the starter. I disassembled the starter and found it has rubber seals. It appears that the seal preventing fluid from entering the solenoid and into the nose cone was leaking and the seal that separates the nose from the motor section was leaking. There are 5 seals in the kit. 2 for the solenoid bolt, 1 for the solenoid, one for the plate between the nose cone and motor section and, 1 that seals the armature shaft.
I polished the armature and cleaned the starter. It's a 10MT with a 3 bolt nose and high torque model. I considered replacing the brushes, but they were fine and if I have issues later I'll build one with new parts.
I sealed the back cover with a thin bead of the Right Stuff to prevent only other fluids from entering the starter in case a hose fails.
I reinstalled the starter yesterday and when testing found a hose seeing on the other side of the engine. It was the hose from the pump to the steering. I made another hose and installed that this morning.
This afternoon I have run and extensively tested the forklift raising the forks many times and driving it under a load and am GLAD to Report that there are no leaks.
So, instead of cobbling the forklift with a valve it is fixed properly. I hope this helps someone else.