Ignition in "acc" I get dash lights and stereo. No power anywhere in "on" position.

This is going to be a long post, and I apologize in advance. Also, I have minimal experience fixing vehicles. I couldn't find any thread with these same symptoms. So I hope this isn't a redundant thread...I'm kinda desperate at this point.

I was driving my '99 2.7L 2WD Tacoma, took a hard turn and the engine cut out, stereo turned off and all settings reset. The engine didn't completely die just stuttered and came back on and everything worked fine for a couple days. Went to leave this afternoon and when I turned my key, nothing happened. No clicks, no starter noises and the engine didn't try to turn. When I looked under my hood I noticed the battery wasn't tightened down and was able to slide left to right. I also noticed there was a small ground wire attached to the body just to the right of the battery that wasn't connected to anything. I attached the small ground wire to the negative terminal, and tried to jump start it. With jumper cables connected I still had no power in the cab, no dash lights, no accessories. I replaced the battery (because after I got home from work it was 3am and had to try something and Wal-Mart was the only thing open, also the battery that WAS in the truck wasn't the correct battery.) Installed the new battery (didn't attach the small ground wire) and would get the chime for the keys being in the ignition and the door being open. Still no power anywhere else. After I checked the other grounds (just visually and making sure they were tight, I don't have a multimeter), one on the chassis under the starter and one on the alternator, I attached the small ground wire to the negative terminal. Now I have dash lights and the stereo comes on with the key in the "acc" position, but nothing happens when I try to start it, also I have no power anywhere with the key just in the "on" position. Another symptom, maybe it matters, maybe it doesn't. The headlight relay clicks when I turn the headheadlight switch on, but no headlights illuminate.

Any ideas? I've read elsewhere about something called fusible link causing odd problems like this, but I have no idea where it is, how to get to it or how I could check it. Please help!

 

*UPDATE*
Slept about 6 hours, went out to my truck and tried to start it to see if anything changed (like battery drain or anything) and it started. So I turned it off, tightened everything down and started it again. Let it run for about 10 minutes then made the 15 minute drive to work with no issues. So now I'll see what happens when I leave. I'm thinking I'm going to replace the positive battery cable terminal that looked a little corroded and shitty...

 

*UPDATE #2*
Left work and drove another 15 minutes to a gas station. Put in gas and then it was totally dead again. Said screw it and had it towed to a repair shop. They did a quick electrical check (battery, alternator and fuses) and everything checked out. Now I'm vehicle-less until they have their electrical tech do a systems diagnostics on it tomorrow.

 

*Solution*
It was just the positive battery terminal. What a waste of money.

 

Don't think of it as a waste of money, instead, think of it as a learning experience

 

That is a really good point. I'm just bitter at the moment!