Ballast resistor getting very hot

As Dmoore said, at idle it will pick up those electrons and warm up and even get hot, (esp. if you idle a lot) but once you`re cruising it will let the electrons flow and cool down some. You should ohm it out though and make sure it`s the right value. One of the guys around here with a later model A-body should be able to give you the proper resistance for that ballast resistor.