Fusible link guage?
Well, I feel like an *** now...it turns out, in my haste to get it fixed last night (and get out of the mid-20's weather, as I'm a true shade tree mechanic, with no garage space), I inadvertently forgot to plug the center firewall connector back into the block--I had pulled it to find the burnt link--and once I did that, it started, and runs fine (so far).:banghead:
I let it run for about 15 minutes, and checked for smells, sparks, or any signs of deterioration, but couldn't find any. I also checked my alternator with a multimeter, and it seems to be fine. All the light work now, too.
I'm thinking more and more it was the amp gauge, because I've read here on FABO that it's a fire waiting to happen anyway, and with the 'pegging action', it definitely was having issues.
Since I drive the car to work every day, I'll be keeping a wary eye on it, just to be sure it's not something else that was causing the problem.
Thanks for all the help, guys. :)
Rob