I apparently have no brake lights. Or at least that is what the cop said. So I checked the faq.s and recent postings and learned about the light relay( the red cylindrical relay in front of the fuse panel) and how to clean the contacts in the light housing and checked the bulbs. Well I did all that and even tried two relays from a junkyard and both times the brake lights still dont work. I seem to think that I may have an electrical short somewhere b/c well first of all the car (b/f I got it) had an electrical fiasco and I can only assume it is related to that. But in fairness my ingnorance or unfamiliarity with the vehicle also plays a major role. If it is a short it should be easy to repair as there are no back seats or carpet in the car. Also is the red dash light that has a light bulb with an X through it a light that says your lights are on, or that something is wrong. If it is the latter then both times I replaced the relay and started the car to see if the brake lights worked, that dash light was off then turned on within a minute or so.

Any Help or encouraging words would be thankfully accepted.
Thank you all in advance.