It's in there good and tight, and I heard a very audible click when it went in and seated.

The left assembly has all of its lights, but some of the frames around the bulb holders are bent. The right assembly is partially broken at the top, and it is missing the brake light and reverse light bulb holders. It is so misshapen that I cannot fit the lower bulb holder into the brake light hole.

 

" It's in there good and tight, and I heard a very audible click when it went in and seated."

I'm not talking about "seated" as in the switch in the frame/rail. Have a look at post #10 and it refers to the plunger adjustment. And with that being said, those lamp assemblies look like crap. The bulb sockets can be replaced separately, but IMHO I would just replace both lamp assemblies.

But FIRST you need to test the LH & RH connectors with a test light or multi meter to see what is working or not. If you don't have either it's off to the store to get an inexpensive one. And I don't know if you are familiar with doing this, but no worries because a blind monkey could do this test.

I'm having trouble seeing detail in your pics so give me the wire colors for the LH and RH side. If the wire is striped give the striped color second. For example RY = Red with Yellow stripe. Also, what are the last 8 numbers of you VIN?

 

I guess I don't understand the plunger adjustment. I'm not hearing a click when I pull back on the pedal. However, when I just press and depress the pedal, there is an audible click under the center console when the ignition is switched to ON.

Feeling under there, the plunger is depressed into the switch when the pedal is at rest, and when the pedal is pressed, the plunger moves back with the pedal. Is this correct?

I'll pick up a multi meter. I have a wall socket test light, which showed nothing, but I'm guessing that wouldn't work anyway?

Last 8 of the VIN are SA127814

I attached photos of the wire colors. LH, from left to right, is BP, BP (blue w/purple stripe), RB, B, RY, GB (green w/brown stripe) and the RH is B, BP, RO (red w/orange stripe), B, RY, GB

 

1> Brake switch plunger: The click you are hearing with the ignition switch on is a relay and not related to the switch. " Feeling under there, the plunger is depressed into the switch when the pedal is at rest, and when the pedal is pressed, the plunger moves back with the pedal. Is this correct?" Yes, the plunger should move towards the pedal as it is pressed to activate the brake lamps. BUT (here is the adjustment) IF the plunger is not moving forward far enough = no brake lights. Look at post #10 again under REFIT #10 and that's the "click" I'm referring to. The plunger can be moved forward if it is not activating the brake lights. But you still need the brake lights or a test light/multimeter to confirm.....so.....

2> Now that I can see the pics in full detail, first the RH side is toast. The top is cracked and melted so something overcooked that connection. The RH needs to be replaced, but I still would do both sides. Also be sure to have the proper watt bulbs! And as per your VIN (SA127814) you need the early lights, see the pic above for the part #'s.

3> Testing the wiring with the test light or multimeter is key to getting this sorted. " wall socket test light " not going to get it done you need something to test 12 volts. This is real easy, if you use a test light put the alligator clip on the BLACK WIRE and use the probe to make contact with the wires one at a time while activating the brake lights, reverse lights, etc. KEY in ON position. Same deal with the multimeter, Black Lead to BLACK wire and back pin from there with the Red Lead.
If you look at the lamp assembly connector you can see where the wires go. The manual is giving me different info (early vs late '95/'96) based on the wires in your pic. But no worries, you have factory wiring and the test light/multimeter will confirm all you need to know.

 

I went through it again and the plunger has plenty of room to move forward. This time, pulling the brake back, I did hear 1 distinct click from the switch. Still nothing. I also depressed the brake pedal firmly, which gave a lot of room for the plunger. I then pushed the plunger in and out with my finger. Wouldn't this trigger the brake lights off and on?

I'm going to order LH and RH assemblies and start fresh with those.

Got a quality multimeter from HD, but I'm not getting any voltage showing on anything. I guess I'm doing this wrong, as I do get reverse lights and that one running light on. I put the probes on the outside of the wire or down in the back of the connector with the assembly plugged in?

That said, looking at the wiring in the car in the assembly housing, there is a ton of electrical tape. Uncovering them, there are quite a few "kinks" in the wire that have bare copper showing, so that might be explaining all of this.

 

1> The switch, it sounds like you have enough travel. And yes, providing the KEY is in POSTION 2, pushing the plunger in by hand will trigger the brake lights to come on. But there is more going on here...

2>The Multimeter: First be sure you are in the right voltage setting. If this meter has AUTORANGE turn it OFF. Put the meter in DCV/20. Now you can put the test leads to the connector. You are going to do this 2 ways because you know the REVERSE Lamps go on. First KEY is in POSTION 2, Put the Meters BLACK Lead to the BLACK Wire in the connector from behind. Then put the Meter Red Lead to the GREEN/BROWN. NOW put this PIG in REVERSE and see what voltage is reading for the REVERSE LIGHTS.

NEXT, Disconnect the connectors from BOTH lamp assemblies and do the same test, plus test the other 5 wires in the connectors the same way(see pic). This will remove the poor grounds and connections in those crappy lamp assemblies from the equation. The meter becomes "the bulb". And you can put the test leads in front or back it won't matter. Remember to have someone turn on headlamp switch, indicators, reverse, step on the brake pedal, etc. for each circuit you are testing.

3> Breaks in the wires insulation can be causing a lot of issues/shorts etc. Go easy when you remove the tape because the wires can and will break.
I hope all this B$ makes some sense.

 

I'll give this a shot! Thank you so much for your help with this, OverRover!