okay, to start out with, the speedometer and the cruise stopped working, then all of the lights would blink continuously.The lights had been dim to begin with so I changed the alternator.(that was fun). After the alternator was changed, the lights were steady, however, after driving down the road for about, 10 miles, the rpm gauge fluctuated then just died, my lights went dim again ( i knew I was in trouble then) and eventually the battery drained and the car went dead. I found that the fuse had blown (Slot 15, 7.5 amp). I changed the fuse, charged the battery and it started right back up.
I put a volt meter on the two prongs of the fuse and moved all of the wires around under the dash and under the hood but found no short to ground.
Okay, with all that said, the alternator,vss, o2 sensors and several other sensors are on this same fuse.
Will a bad sensor cause all of this trouble?

 

This problem is well known on 1996 to 2000 models. You need to get underneath the car and check the harness where it passes over the intake manifold bracket on the back of the engine block (the small harness that branches off the big harness near the starter to go across the back of the engine to the speed sensor, alternator, etc.) Tape up the frayed wires so the fuse doesn't blow again.