Work truck...Chevy.

John: I haven't tried the cable trick but the battery is hot as a fire cracker. The radio, heater, and lites work just fine. Any other ideas? Maybe a fuseable link? Where would it be? Dash only is affected. Trun the key on and the radio comes on and works fine but roll the key on over and nothing works on the dash.
Small Block

Try the jumper cables. VERY possible there is enough batt.to run radio,etc. The starter requires 150 amps to run. Power to the dash is interrupted in start position. Could also be a dead starter. Also check charging once running,as stated could be bad alt causing batt to drain while running.