Need help perfecting the budget build hemi swap

Good news, and bad on the directionals. I think it has a short in the front wiring, and here's why. 5 minutes ago I went out, and started the car. It's cold outside ( 30 ), so the electric choke is in it's element in weather like this. Standing outside the car, I reached my leg in, pumped the gas pedal, and turned the key. It immediately fired right up. As I took my leg out, my knee hit the directional stalk, and the engine lost RPM's, and tried to die. Than I flipped the directional back to center, and the RPM's came back , and the engine went back to normal. So I'm thinking there must've been a big draw on the alternator. A big draw ! It's 138 amp alternator. Hopefully that's an indication of a short, and as soon as I hear a second opinion I'll start digging for it.