Well, it's a mute point now. As always dougrainer was right,,, AS USUAL. I checked my dash switches, drivers side panel switches and nothing. I happen to think there are 3 switches beside her arm rest and one is labeled "MAP LIGHT". Surprise, suprise, I flip it and the light comes on. DUH, my DW said the light used to work but I didn't listen or didn't ask how she turns it on. In my defense, that light is the only thing controlled by the switch. My map light works by flipping the switch on the fixture.
That's what I get for thinking; I know what I'm doing. Lesson learned,,, until the next time I do something dumb. It wasn't bad taking the fixture and bottom of that cabinet out then putting it back together but it was a lot more trouble than it should have been.