FIXEEEED!!!!!!!
Dang that was hard.
Nothing to do at all with what I was working on on the dash gauge area. So I started figuring out what the heck fusible links were, so I found the one on the engine side on the other side of the wall, I wiggled it, went back to the truck and now the engine lights and vents turned on! But truck didn't start. So the fusible link was all holding on like 2 wires. So I cut it, put it back together (I just used a splice; I guess I need to do it differently, fancier?). Anyway, truck still didn't start but it was better.
I found a troubleshooting decision tree so next it said to check Voltage on the solenoid. In this truck because of the headers, it's a royal pain to get to the terminals. So I'm under the truck figuring how I can get the multimeter probes in there when I notice a loose wire. WTF? I go outside and flash a light from the engine compartment and notice that one of the solenoid bolt/terminal has the metal hoop end and no wire!!!
Are the bunnies all around my house messing with me? Then I remember that in this whole convoluted process I had managed to use one of those push start testing things to bypass the starter. I am thinking that when I pulled the terminals of the tester they must've pulled out the wire from the solenoid! Just my bleeping luck.
So took the nut off the solenoid (that took 20 minutes, no room to work, no visual, all feel under the truck), put a new end on the wire and presto! Truck runs.
Phew.
Now I am thinking that from messing with that ignition switch, it is not quite in the best position. It feels that I have to turn the key all the way to the very end for the truck to start. Or maybe it's my imagination. I probably leave it alone because it feels like I am just asking for trouble.
Whooohooooo!!! Thanks!
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