I'm going to bypass the whole mess on our '90 244.

I'll remove the flex board.
Then I'll verify that the bulb holders grab onto the black plastic reflector housing nicely with the "board" gone.

I plan to cut off the connector from the end of the wire harness going to the flex circuit board. I'll solder wiring directly to the metal tabs on the proper bulb holders (drill a small hole in each metal tab to pass wire into for good mechanical connection). I'll need to extend the wiring from where I cut off the connector to the back of the bulb holders. And I'll need to install 5 ground wires for each side of the car.

This may be overkill but I'm not interested in babying the rear lights on that car, over the long term. I'd rather build a solid system and be able to forget about it - since we only drive it occasionally, and any/all members of the family might, whenever needed - so I want it to be a "set it and forget it" item.

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Sven: '89 245, IPD sways, electric rad. fan conversion, e-codes, 28+ mpg - auto tranny. 850 mi/week commute. '89 245 #2 (wifemobile). '90 244 (spare, runs).