Don’t have any dash, dome or tail lights when headlights are on?

Don’t have any dash, dome or tail lights when headlights are on?

First. Accidents happen and we learn from them, so don't agonize over it.

LovetheA's said
I also have read that the one post off the back of the OEM style alternator is for the positive(hot) connection and for the ground connection.

That will be an easy way for you to discriminate good info from bad. Anyone who is saying the output stud or the wires attached to it are ground should be ignored. They are clueless.
As you can see in the schematic, the black wire is alternator output and joins with battery output at splice.

LovetheA's said
I’ve read that the ground connection to the alternator has to be from the alternator to the engine block? Also the ground has to be contacting through bare metal and unpainted surfaces? I think that maybe the ground isn’t secure properly and maybe not heavy enough guage wire.

Correct. The output circuit of the alternator uses the housing as ground. The housing is bolted to the brackets and the engine. That part of the connection is going to be pretty good.

There is a ground connection from battery to the engine block. Then, on your car, there should be ground wire from the back of the block or rear of the right cylinder head, to the firewall. That's the body ground.