03 M45, Step lamp modification fail

[EdBwoy]

Hey guys,long time lurker here. I try not to speak/write unless I have something important to contribute. But of course, the site has been tremendously helpful with my cars over the years.

Problem at hand:
I have a 2003 m45 that was works well for the most part. Rarely modded and pretty well maintained. Recently the mod bug bit again and I hooked up side mirror puddle lamps to the front door step lamps. They worked well for a couple of days until the driver side went out for no apparent reason(both door step lamp and the side mirror puddle lamp).
Tested the lamp by moving it to different doors and it worked everywhere else. I had a different BCM that I could test with, and the results were the same - left front step lamp still doesn't work.
In the process, I took out the passenger side to rewire and tuck stuff. When I came back from reconnecting the battery terminal, I found that the step lamp power and ground wires had come into contact with each other and of course, the step lamp won't come on either.

My guess is that somehow something got shorted the first time and that's how I lost both front step lamps.
The complication here is that all my fuses are ok, and the BCMs seem to be ok.
I am usually pretty FSM literate and I have followed the FSM lighting section but I still can't figure this out.
So,What exactly gets screwed up when you short a step lamp circuit right at the lamps? The fuses are all fine under the dash


[On a side note, which might actually be related: When my interior courtesy lights mysteriously died, I figured that I had a blown fuse. Of course, I couldn't tell during daylight and the way the car let me know was this - whenever a door was opened, the trunk motor would release the trunk. When the door was shut, the motor would pull the trunk down again. Creepy stuff but it does get your attention]

[EdBwoy]

Well, I figured it must be something in the master switch where I fried the ground. I just rewired both puddle lamps and step lamps to the dome lights. Pretty neat that when I unlock the door, the lights come on like the welcome lighting on the Q70s.

Now I have to contend with another issue. Only the driver power locks and window works. The other 3 doors respond to neither master switch nor the switches on their respective doors. I have 2 BCMs and 2 master switches, still no dice. FSM, let's get cozy again

[EdBwoy]

Now I have to contend with another issue.

All done! I fixed my issues and I'm decently pleased with the results . I tried to record a video but it wasn't clear. On to the next project