Not an expert, but my input is as follows; the battery goes into my Throttle channel on my receiver (JR but I would think they are all similar), this is how the receiver powers up the other servos. You do not hook the battery to the normal battery slot in receiver unless you are not using an ESC with BEC(Battery Elimination Circuit ?). I do not run a switch, I just turn on transmitter, then plug battery into esc...when done flying remove battery from ESC before shutting off transmitter. I think the GWS 100 series ESC is also 5 Amps so I would not think that is your problem yet...I fly with 8.4 volts...9.6 is high for that motor but you can throttle back and fly just fine...just don't run WOT all the time. I do not know what implications 9.6 volts has on your ESC...Check the specs to make sure it can handle 8 cells. Again, not an expert but I would look at wiring of your set up first...