OK. After disassembling the tail/brake light and cleaning everything thoroughly, it was functioning properly - at least for about 15 minutes. That’s the point I created another problem. While mounting the headlight switch back into the dash, I bumped the hot wire, got a quick spark, and now no lights. I checked the fuse behind the ammeter & it had continuity. Continuity on each wire from the headlight switch rings out as it should, but when I connect the hot wire to say the tail lights, there is continuity on the taillight contact, the brake light contact, the brake light housing, etc. To me, this is telling me I have a short circuit ahead of the headlight switch. I am looking at the connections behind the ammeter as a starting point. Is there an easy way to get.to this? I used a mirror and a flashlight so I could see to get to the fuse. As before any advice is appreciated.
P.S. I will be disconnecting the battery before re-installing any switches in the future.