I got it !
I spent a couple of hours on it- took out all the fuses and even disconnected the circuit breaker and used a VOM to make sure I had 12 volts to either side of the solenoid so the path from the trunk mounted battery was OK.
I dont have an engine or alternator installed at this point but your e-mail got me thinking and VOILA
the ends of the alternator leads were touching- in fact the short welded them together .
I undid that, put everything back together again and there is light !
Now, my turn signal on the left side doesnt work but the right side does and one of the toggle switches fell aaprt from the rooting around ( can those be fixed or do I need to get a new one ?)... but these are for another day.
Thanks for all your help!!