Roger,

Thanks for your advice. I solved the ding ding ding problem and it does not appear to be related to the theft-light-blinking-no-start problem. The small wire was loose in the ignition and it was completing the circuit on the ignition switch, hence the ding all the time

I found out some additional information on the truck. The guy I bought it from purchased it from an auction for dirt cheap because it had no key. It was sort of a gamble, and he ended up doing pretty good because once he ordered a new key system, it started right up.

So this tells me that the ignition cylinder has been replaced . . . i.e. messed with. Are there any connections I should check that may be causing this no-start problem? It hasn't happened in a long time.