Well, Ok... I guess the short version of this story is to say that I wound up disconnecting the "Batt Neg" wire from the converter and even though the wire looked good (not corroded, burned, etc), I cut off the exposed wires, trimmed back the insulation, reconnected to wire to the terminal and tested by turning on the outside lights. Left it running for about 4 hours. When I checked the wire, it was warm, but not hot. Not NEAR as hot has it had been before. So I'm calling this journey complete. Thank you all for the tips and help. You are AWESOME!
