AE86 dash and running lights gone out

[Mikezore]

Okay this is long winded so stick with me. When I got the car the dash lights acted up but a quick bang on the dash normally brought them back on. I pulled the cowl around the gauge cluster off wiggled the connector on the headlight switch and they worked fine for a while.

Recently they quit working all together. I attempted the same routine but to no avail. So started digging through the wiring diagram and doing some tests and cannot find a damn thing.

At the light switch I have 12v at pins 8, 4 & 7. The tail light relay functions normally and no fuses are blown but I cant get the damn things to come on. An ohm test across the pins of the light switch shows it to function as outlined in the manual. I went ahead and got a new switch since the rheostat was dead and still nothing..

I've torn the dash out and checked every connector but found none loose or any that with a some jiggling brought the lights back to life. Checking the wires that supply V and G to the dash lights revealed something odd though.
Pin 1 on the light switch is a black wire with orange spots. It is the same color as the wires that run to all the dash lights and an ohm test confirmed that they do indeed comprise the same circuit.

Since bypassing the rheostat involves connecting this wire to ground, I assumed the other wire for the lights (Green with Orange spots) would be the V side. But an ohm test reveals the green with orange wire shows a connection to ground.
I started disconnecting connectors from the fuse block until I lost continuity and this revealed the continuity to ground being through the running lights circuit.
I'm at a loss as to where to go next. The only sign of tom foolery I've found is the Black with orange wire (pin 1 at the light switch) has been cut and re-connected via crimp connectors directly behind the light switch, and directly before the gauge cluster.
I've cut the crimp connectors out and reconnected the wires properly to eliminate them as a problem but still no change. Can anyone suggest anything? I'm bout to lose my mind.. what shouldve been a quick fix has turned into a gutting my car nightmare, that I want to end.

The factory service manual I have doesnt list wire colors, so I've been having to use process of elimination but at this point its looking as if I may have to pull the dash support just so I can cut the harness loose and crawl over it begining to end. But before I do that I was hoping someone out there has encountered this before and can point me to the trouble spot.

I appreciate any insight or thoughts into my predicament.