a puff of smoke and now nothing 69 valiant electrical issue

sketch said
where are the ammeter wires?

Attached to the back of the ammeter

sketch said
i think he took all the wires off except the main harness that goes into the dashboard.

sketch said
I don't see any melting

Just because you do not see anything melted does not mean that something is not melted.
you might not see this with the covering still attached

sketch said
what does a fusible link look like (i am a picture guy) near the bulkhead connectors?

something like this