The failure mode of diodes is generally a short (drawing current that is), but they can be open too if they got seriously kazapped. One thing though- if you have a problem and take it to AutoZone for a diagnosis, you end up with roughly the same level of certainty you had before you took it in.

Take it to NAPA or a good alternator shop.

New battery, no run? Something else is going on. Sounds silly, but did you ring out (check with a meter) your fuses and fusible link?

Haha, thats pretty funny. I know a lot of people who are there for that right now.

Yes, I'll probably take it to NAPA cuz Autozone couldn't tell me much more than 'a bad diode'. The thing with the battery confused me too <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />. Unfortunately I dont have a working multimeter (add to checklist) but I think I can borrow one to check the fusible links. But refresh my memory for a moment; where and how do I go about checking them? Slowly gaining knowledge on how to be a better home mechanic, just recently got into this but I love it. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shiner.gif" alt="" />