I'm clueless. Help me out?

[J30tnoob]

So recently I replaced the transmission. I paid a rather fair price. I got a front side light. And I've basically been getting the car ready to a daily driver. But my problem starts here, I started the car to drive it around the parking lot just to get the juices going in it and I had to jump it because not even a light would come on when tried to start. Then the starter didn't want to kick so I connected the positive wire to the positive AND neutral and It worked great. So time for the test drive. I started going and it was real shaky. I was consistant on the gas but it would jump. It was as if I kept slamming the gas real hard then letting go and doing it over and over. Then about 10seconds later, all the lights started dimming out and blinking. I made it about 15 yards before it completely shut off. Again I had no power what so ever and had to jump it 2 more times jus to get it back in the parking space.
I'm clueless as to what is going on. I hope someone can help me out here. I like this car and have yet to have the opportunity to enjoy it. But as of right now my next step is to give it to the first person that offers me a reasonable amount. But like I said, I want this car, it's just after spending money on the transmission this problem seems like a pretty bad(pricey) problem. But if you think it's something siple, I'll be happy to test theories. Thank everyone

[swimshark]

sounds like you have a charging issue and a sensor is not reading right. see if you can get enough juice in the car to check codes on the ecu.

[J30tChumpCar]

A very dead or bad battery will give you unusual or inconsistent issues, charge/borrow/replace the battery and try your parking lot test again.

[J30tnoob]

I got home today and put the battery on the charger. I hooked up the battery from the mountaineer to the J (well I put the jumper cables on the battery while it was still in the mountaineer and connected the other end straight the the battery cables in the J while my batter sat on the charger a little longer) I ran the OBD1 test and it read 5 flashes on both long and short. But when I looked at the list there is no 55 so I'm guessing that means it isn't reading anything wrong? Also something else I noticed is that when I first press the brakes while it is running, the power gets weak and I hear a clicking noise from inside. Then it clicks again when I release.
What kind of charging problems could i test?

[J30tChumpCar]

55 indicates no problems

Everything else you describe points to a bad battery, you are going to have to steal the mountaineer battery (if it will temporarily fit) to proceed further or test drive mode

[J30tnoob]

I just went back in the car and determined that the clicking is coming from the shifter. So I guess it's just releasing the shifter. Which is messed up because everthing is a shift down further than it should be. As in nuetral is reverse and 3rd is drive. I'll fix it eventually lol it's just that's not a main concern right now. But it's like all around the car barely has any power and anything that I do like roll up the windows makes the lights dim and almost kill the car. Then after running the car with the battery in it for about 10 minutes just backing up and pulling forward. Then I turned it off and tried to start it again but there was no power at all like I expected.
So I'd like to check for shorts in the wiring but don't know how I would go about doing that. Does anyone know if autozone has a test they could perform to check?
Thanks for the help.

[J30tnoob]

I can't use the battery from the mountaineer because it's a truck battery and I had to do a little modding of the cables just to be able to use the battery in there. But I do have the J battery back on the charger and I am gonna let it charge all night.

[J30tChumpCar]

Disregarding the lack of voltage to operate things or restart how did it run or drive when you had it going?
Why was the car parked?
How old is the battery?
How long has it set dead?

IF you have a bad alternator a well charged battery will give you a idea if the car is worth spending more time on. So far you have NOT described a short, just a bad or discharged battery or bad alternator or all 3. just take it one at a time

[J30tnoob]

The car operated good. The engine ran as usuall and the transmission shifted perfectly. The car was sitting up because it needed some repairs and a little tune up. I was given the car and it wasn't in driving condition. So I've been slowly but steady fixing problems. The battery is only a couple years old and it was charged about a month ago and just to make sure the car wouldn't drain it's power I had it disconected

[J30tChumpCar]

So far you sound fine.

A battery allowed to sit in a discharged state may be damaged past the point of accepting a charge, if your car needs a jump once reinstalling the charged battery or it discharges rapidly <15 min you need a battery as even with a failed alternator things should operate longer if the battery has any life left in it.(quit playing with the headlights/windows/air conditioner, focus on the cars condition if that stuff works ignore it for now)
Go from there, perhaps find a used battery if your budget is low or you are still unsure.

[J30tnoob]

Update: I got home about an hour ago, took my battery off the charger and brought it straight to auto zone to have it tested. The guy told me that's it's good and 100% charged. So I got home and put it in. I turned the key and it started right up. So I took it for a drive around the parking lot then around the neighborhood. It ran good the entire time. Then I got home and parked it, turned it off and then tried to restart it, but there was no power. So I disconnected the battery then reconnected it and it started. That same thing happened three times. Then a buddy of mine happened to call and I told him what was going on and he said it sounded like something was getting grounded out.
What do y'all think my next step should be in figuring this out?

[J30tChumpCar]

Clean /tighten battery posts and cable ends.

[J30tnoob]

Is baking soda the best thing for the job or do you recommend something better?

[yodawill2000]

A Battery terminal cleaner will do fine.
Cheap at any car parts store.
Like a wire brush that wraps around the terminals.

[driverdriver]

Silicone dielectric grease will also help. You want to put a thin coat around the posts and then connect the connectors. Dielectric grease can be found for cheap at any automotive and even some electronic stores.

[J30tnoob]

It worked!!!! Haha. I know exactly what your talking about yoda but I couldn't find mine so I filled up a empty yogurt cup with water and put some baking soda in it, stuck the wire ends in it then the connectors then I poured it on the posts. And sinse I didn't find the wire cleaner I just used sand paper. I put on the dielectric grease and made sure everything was on really tight. I started it and let it run for a minute turned it off then back on and it worked perfect. I did it about 4 times and it worked everytime. Thanks for your help guys.
Also I'm going to be looking for some spark plugs soon and was wondering if there are any sponsors of this website that sells OEM plugs

[yodawill2000]

Sparkplugs.com NGK PFR5G-11
Glad you got er' fixed up !!!

[J30tnoob]

Thanks yoda. I jus went for a joy ride on the I-10 and it was great. I was cruising at about 60 until I got to a point where I could see about a mile ahead of me and I decided to find out what the black little clicker is all about. So I floored it and it felt like I was in a spaceship. I got it up to about 90-95 before I started to slow down. I wanted more but just didn't want to catch up to the cars in front of me when I was almost hitting 100. And as much as I loved that feeling I don't think I'll be doing it again any time soon.. I don't need another blown transmission. Haha
well again, thanks for everyones input, I'm glad all it took was a little cleaning and grease.

[J30tChumpCar]

Great news!

Worry more about your license then the transmission, I have over 65 hours (4000+ miles) road racing a non rebuilt trans.