Bill:
If you had a short, you would get some noticeable arcing or burning
smells. If it was in the fused portion of the circuits, the fuse would
pop. Instead, I think you have some major connection going OPEN,
such as at the ignition switch or solenoid. When you get the headlights
to come back on, try wiggling the key and all connections on the
switch and solenoid to see what might cause them to flicker. Is the
ignition switch getting hot? A poor contact passing a heavy current
will generate heat.
The fuel pump noises and the shutdown may or may not be related. Do you
have an alternator or generator? If the line to the battery goes open
on a generator car, it will keep running ok, but I don't know about an
alternator car. Make sure all solenoid connections, both ends of the
battery cables, and the ground cable are tight. If you had a voltmeter
available you could read the voltages across the various connections,
which are should be around zero if good.
That's all I can think of for now.
Stu
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