Wow!
Remember the country western comedy show that was on television way back when?
In part of it, they had a theme song "If it weren't for Bad Luck I would
have no Luck at all!" Sounds like you have been living out that song.

Hope it gets better...

On the wiring, if you don't want to go with an aftermarket fuse box, I used one from early VW Rabbits for my 50 Sedan. It is a nice size, fits under the dash but will rotate
down and out so you can see it when opened. Lots of good stuff with the wiring in the aftermarket too.