update:
i should have checked the wiring sooner. turns out the brittle plastic loom clamps had broken and allowed the wire loom to rest against the exhaust manifold.
melted one ground wire completely and had started on another wire.
i repaired the wires, put new hi-temp wire loom around all the wires and zip-tied that all in place.
went on a 250 mile trip over the holiday and was code free the entire way. truck ran much better as well.
thanks for all the help and especially to jymmiejamz and rovercanus.