Well a report to my problems.
I found the short, so taillights work.

The starting problem was the batteries. I talked to a diesel mech, and he said diesels' utilize a lot of compression and you need a lot of juice to start them. The new batteries worked like a charm.
I have discovered that there are no fusible links in the LC. I'll need to go to Denver and visit a Toyota dealership, unless any of you know where you can get some online.
Thanks again for the direction.
Jeff