well i looked at the battery ground again and it seemed like even when tightened all the way on the battery it still moved around so we bought a new ground cable with a connector and everything seems to be okay

 

Good that you found the problem. Unless it's falling apart, you can usually cure this be resetting the battery terminal. Loosen the nut very loose and pry the terminal open. Push it all the way down so it is almost touching the top of the battery. Some of the battery post should be showing above the top edge of the terminal. Tighten the nut and see if it gets tight on the battery.

 

thanks for the help, does it sound like that would cause the problem?