maybe its not the original one then. it is only 2 prong, and it is not electronic. There is a what I thought to be a "spare" ground tucked away.
The loose wire was from my new electronic relay. The relay has the two prongs, but also a 3" long black "ground" wire.
Either way, the issue is resolved! The old flasher is actually working great now. Maybe my battery was low, or it was just tired before, lol. It was taking a few seconds to begin flashing after hitting the switch. I also thought I might go LED at some point, so I replaced it. I'm no longer planning to go LED, so the old school one works for me.