/// If the smoke is out of the Gear shift you have a failed neutral start switch. The brass traces are very close in the center of the switch. Years of wear wipe brass and oil/grime into the bakelite. It will light up like a bulb filament. Been there, had it happen in my 79.

If this is not an auto trans then you should look for the source. Pull fuses, turn everything off and then test resistance at the open fuse clips until you eliminate the short. Inside the engine compartment you can remove the positive (red) wires at the distribution rail behind the battery. If you put a test bulb in the negative battery cable you can limit the current while you search. The use of a low current test lamp will allow you to safely trace this problem