Lets talk gauge wiring.
 

The purple wires are tied to the blue wires (purple being ignition & blue being lights)
When I stick a continuity meter on the ground it says there is continuity between the ground, purple (I) & blue leads (L). That doesn't seem right to me.
Should I not be Bud Lighting it while on this project?
I think I hooked everything back up the way it was, but I'm not sure now.

If the bulbs are in, you'll see continuity between ground and hot. Guess it depends on which side of the switch you are testing.