So they're both identical? I will buy two and see if it does the trick. Oddly nobody shows how to access those fuses. The Panel comes off easily but not sure about the black encasement.

 

If you can change the batteries in a flashlight, you can do this. It requires a 12 or 13mm socket or wrench. That's it.

I wouldn't bother if they test good. Do you know how to test a fuse lol. ?

 

It was not the Mega Fuses. They tested fine. Tested all of the fuses. They check out ok,
And yes Jbrew...I CAN test a fuse. Also it's a bit trickier on this 21 year old vehicle as all of the plastics are brittle and cracking apart so I don't always want to yank things off without knowing what I'm doing.

 

I know, I own a 98 w/350,000 plus miles. Those fuses are a PITA. Not to change out, but to test. This is because a solder ball connects them. When the ball cracks, they test good with MM, but fail under load. That's why I asked if you knew who to test those. You confirmed.

Regardless, I wasn't saying this was your problem, you were going off of what others were telling you. I explained the fuses for yuh. Btw, Ford deleted those fuses after 98...since they were so troublesome. Easy to bend, the holder/mount has insufficient dampening which caused the fuse ball to crack. For checking purposes, I just by-pass temporarily. Can save you a boat load of time and troubleshooting. Don't leave them by-passed though, the truck may go up in flames behind your back.

However, there is a simple way to take the fuses out of the picture. Use a 99 harness configuration.

 

That's so cool. I've read about accidentally reversing the polarity of a dead battery but I've never seen it.

 

I bet that has happened to at least somebody out there. Can you imagine??? There goes the truck....down the street, through someone's front lawn and into there Dining room. Yikes.
My next test is that I'm going to get my jumper cables out...run the positive (red) from the battery to the starter and hook on to the starter, totally bypassing the Relay. (obviously disconnecting the Relay wires first of course).
If it starts,..the Relay is the culprit. Does this make sense...or am I missing something.

I did conduct the screwdriver test where I touch the screwdriver to both of the bolts on the relay with the ignition set to "on" or "start" position. Normally this will get the truck cranked up but this time I got NOTHING...no fire, no arc,..nothing.

I will next strangle my son when he gets back from college since this has been so much fun for me.

 

Problem solved. Replacing the Solenoid on the firewall AND replacing the Starter Relay fuse (which originally looked ok) fixed the truck. Done. Amen.

Thanks everyone for the input and advice.