finally got back to trying to figure this mess out, but this past weekend i disconnected all known wiring going in to the car from the engine and applied power by jumper from the battery to the "key on" side of the fuse block to simulate the ignition switch being on, which is when these grounds become "energized". by doing that, i think that the problem has to be inside the cabin itself, and not coming in thru the engine harness. one of the grounds is #450, the other is #1003. 1003 is for the airbag system. if i disconnect the "DERM" and arming sensor, the hot ground will go away, OR if i pull the SIR and gauges fuse - has to be both, not one or the other. a couple of common wires are a yellow, and a yellow/black. so i tried to see if there was any short from it to ground #450, and what i got on the meter was a "blip" instead of steady beep, and it also quickly flashed a high number of ohms, like 1200+, but went away as quickly as the "blip" i got. upon trying that again later, i couldn't get anything out of it.

as for #450, that goes to a lot of things, but removing the ECM fuse takes that problem away. the ECM is disconnected, and i have also disconnected everything else i could find, including the wiring to the ignition and multi-func lever, but no joy.

the hot grounds read different voltage, too. #450 reads about 11.5, while 1003 reads about 10.5. is that because of more resistance on that circuit?

as i've said, the engine harness is completely disconnected at the main connector on the firewall and at the ecm. as far as i know, that removes all power to the cabin.

one last note, one time i hooked up the + batt cable to the batt, and got a spark near the fusible link "D" and connector, but nothing apparently shorted, meaning that there is still continuity thru those wires. all wiring to starter is disconnected, as well.

any ideas out there would be appreciated. several months later, my new engine is still waiting to ride again...

KAM