98 frontier, 120k miles, AT: no start. well, sort-a...

[3nissans]

Hi fellas:Well, if it's not one thing, it's another. I have not taken care of my instrument panel problem yet, and here comes another one. The Fronty would not start this morning, so I used my portable jumper. It started right up. Thought maybe, it's my battery. The battery (about a year old and practically new) measured good. 12.7 volts. What gives? No lights on the instrument panel when putting it in start position. Tried the portable again. Started right up. So, just for the heck of it, instead of hooking up the negative to ground/engine block, I hooked it up directly to the negative terminal of the battery. (I know, I know. not the proper way to jump start.) No start doing it this way. Electrical is not my forte, but is it safe for me to assume bad ground connection. Any of you guys out there experience this same scenario? Thanks in advance for any and all replies.Denny