1978 jeep cj-5

[aem1994]

i bought this 78 from my uncle and got it home and it has always started and drove. parked it in the garage a couple days ago and put a new brake light switch in it ( way more of a pain in the <-BAD WORD-> then it should be) and now i am trying to start it and when i can get the dash to come to life i turn the key to start it and i hear a tick and everything goes dead and i can turn the key off and on and the dash will ocasionally come back to life but when i turn the key to start it i get the same problem. if i have the key on there is no power where the battery cable comes to the selenoid with key off there is. that should always be hot if the wire is directly off the battery. help would be appreciated. thanks in advance.