Ouch, shocked !!

[spreerider]

Hey there doug just reading your post and may be you should check your GFI plug to make sure that it is grounded first off , if not its just like a normal plug

GFI only compares the current through the 'hot' wire against the current in the 'Neutral', if the current through them is different as in some current is leaking to ground, the GFI detects the difference and trips, so it actually doesnt need the ground connection to work its just safer to have it properly grounded as this will reduce the shock risk for a person handling the device.