When we got down to Lennies last weekend I discovered no 12v power on the drivers side. Minor inconvenience but we couldn't watch TV without the antenna booster. Checked fuses but misread the schematic for the fusebox and thought all was well. Started in on it Tuesday and found the circuit protected by a black box thing with copper fittings for the fuse input. [Balast, circuit breaker, oe something else?] It was VERY hot. I got it out and tried a 20a fuse which blew immediatly. So now I know I have a short somewhere. I start out down the circuit to the first light, disconnect everything past it and all is well. The second light is under the cabinet over the bed. I get everything out of that cabinet and wonder where the wiring is. Learned about the false floor in the cabinets. Lifted it up and there was the wiring. Isolated the rest again and all was fine to this point. Next light in galley over sink, same thing, then a light over prep area and antenna booster area. Removed that false floor and discovered why some people shouldn't be allowed to do wiring. Looked at how everything need to be connected then ripped the whole thing out. Test wired last 2 lights and booster individually and all were fine. Connected everything back up and everything works fine, so I suspect some of the bazaar wiring was the culprit. Still have the black box in that circuit but it's nice and cool now, and didn't spark at all when I put it in, so I think a 20a will be fine.
Sure glad I learned about all those false floors in the cabinets, not nearly as scared of wiring work now.
Next project- Replacing all the clearance lights with LEDs.

Ah yes the amazing world of electrons! I've seen some strange mechanical stuff cobbled together over the years but nothing matches some of the "magic" wiring I've seen. My old 54 Chev had 3 separate wires from the key switch to the starter..all 3 started same place, ended same place but were strung in different bundles! The wire from the switch to the coil (about 3 feet long) had 3 splices in it. Etc, etc...
My usual rule is to rewire and bypass the mess as you did. I haven't found any wiring probs in Barth proper, only the junk Chev wiring for engine and headlights, which have been rewired.
I just lost my tail lights in my old pickup, didn't bother to find the bad wire just ran another one. Works well and took less time than fixing the original. A good digital meter and some inspection and thought can find/fix almost anything. good luck!