YES! That did it! Thanks Forest River for making a hidden connection! Now, since I can't see to inspect those hidden wires and it is possible that the hot wire that melted could have compromised the insulation on other wires, I am going to install an inline 15 amp fuse in the POS for the clearance lights just in case.
Thanks MEX for making me think about the cut out wires.
It was not a wasted effort because I cleaned up all of my tail light wiring eliminating factory crimp nuts and installing waterproof butt splices and refreshing the grounds with new screw to frame and waterproof ring terminals.
Another success story.