I put it into gear and it dies.

RustyRatRod said
Ok good....well bad. lol Now you need to find out WHERE it's losing that signal. I would probe the connection at the firewall where the ignition run wire is and see if it has power "there". Is there any way you can wedge a test light on that circuit going into the ballast so you can see it through the windshield? Then you could go in and put the key in run and wiggle it around some and see if the test light comes on or flashes. That would verify a bad ignition switch.

Ok, I just rigged this up real quick and there was no light anywhere except one VERY specific spot in the crank position right before the starter kicked in where the light was super bright on the "input" side of the ballast and dimmer on the "output" side. Other than that, nothing.