Thanks for the encouragement about switching from auto to stick. I'm considering the same on my '83 244 turbo project and appreciate knowing that it's been done successfully by another brickboarder. As far as your sparking wires and blown fuses problem goes, I'd make absolutely sure that the wires under there which you think are positive are positive and the negatives are negative. If either one of these wires was the opposite polarity from what you thought, horrible things could happen, including fires, by connecting them.

I haven't seen it yet on a non computer controlled circuit in my cars ('83 245DL and '83 244 turbo), but sometimes in cars I've worked on, the same wire can go from positive to negative based on key position and other factors. The wire you're working with may be positive when it's in park but as soon as you put it in gear and go on the road it can turn into a ground and cause serious problems, i.e. blown fuses and possible fire risk. A ground wire connected to a positive wire is certainly a top cause for blown fuses, as well as massive battery drainage. I'd take a voltmeter under there (not just a test light) and check for proper polarity and voltage. Good luck with finding the gremlin. I know electrical problems can be very scary.