Jeep Cherokee Forum - eletrical issues

For those of you who don't feel like reading my book let me summarize for you, headlights wont work and dome lights wont turn off

A couple weeks ago my 98 decided the headlights wont work any more while I was driving. I held the headlight switch made it home went out the next day and they worked fine. all has been good and well until about 2 weeks ago I was out on a mudding trip and they went out again and this time it was permanent. I also buried the jeep that night fried the alternator and bout blew it up trying to get it out of a hole the interior got flooded and ruined it was a real mess.:thumbdown: towed home and just the other day got a newish alternator on it and got her fired up. Of curse the Budweiser got the best of me and I had to take it out trail riding everything went well but right when I was about 100 yd form my house it just shut off. all the lights where still on(I had 13 pennys wedged in the highbeam switch to keep them on) and it would crack and crack but would not fire for nothing I first assumed the distributor had gotten wet but we where miles form the mud by then and it had run fine till then idk if it might be a bigger electrical issue that is also contributing to my light problem or what anyways I go out the next day and it fires right the F up I was so confused I drove it up to the house and parked it. Well yesterday I go to set my tree stand up in the woods go to get in the jeep and its deader them some isis sissy who decided to sleep under the bomb we dropped on em. so I get out the jumper cords get it started seems to be charging and everything just fine. now mind you this is a 2 month old battery the best one you can get 5 year warenty, the big boy 580 cold cracking amps I think and it aint ever cold out. I go set up my stand get back and its dark. fire up the jeep get my pennies in the headlight switch crack open a beer then I notice the dome lights are still on so naturally, I punch the dash and the cielling next to the domelight with no response and then slam the door a couple 10 times with nothing. I get out go around slam everydoor push the little button that tells the light its time to turn off and still nothing. if I turn the dimmer switch all the way to the left like I want to turn the dome light on the lights get brighter but if I turn them off they stay on kinda dim like. I reached up to take the connector outta the back of the light and the wirers right where they come out of the upholstery looked black & burnt like it was thinking about catching on fire. I went up to my buddys to bull**** for a while sittin in the jeep and could smell wires burning ignition off no key in it or nothing no lights on. anyone ever have any of these problems? or better yet a solution I think its in that dimmer switch since its both the headlights and the dome lights idk what do you think is that switch a good place to start?