lights on back of 99 suburban

well, it started out as a turn bulb replacement. the turn signal started blinking fast so I stepped outside and isolated it down to the right side. went and purchased 6 new bulbs to do a complete bulb replacement on the rear lights. After replacing all the bulbs I checked for turn signals and even though they looked a little dim in the daylight I patted myself on the back and parked the truck to await my midnight date with work. at midnight, running slightly ahead of time i needed to walk behind the truck - NO RUNNING LIGHTS! so I did what any good mechanic would do - I took mom's truck. The next day I started troubleshooting and found that the running lights were out, the turn signals were very dim and when i put it in reverse all six lights came on dim. after changing bulbs in and out and looking for current at the plug (11.5 volts) i was very confused - after all it was a frickin' turn bulb changeout! so i did what any good mechanic would do - I took a nap! after my happy nap I decided to poke around since I remembered this truck had a towing package. as I was laying there looking up into the left back fender area wiring harness I noticed a ragged looking BLACK wire that had a nick in it. i cut and spliced it real nice and looked up to see the emergency flashers were flashing nice and bright. so what happened? while trying to get the left bulb housing out I must have hossed it a little too much and cut the aging little ground wire. THE MORAL TO THIS STORY - WHEN IN DOUBT, GO TAKE A NAP! hope this helps somebody...