Starter not activating

I have a 95 4runner with a 3.0 v6 and A/T. A while back the motor locked up so I ordered a long block and did everything myself. Now that we have the motor back into the truck the starter doesn't seem to activate. We did a continuity test and the solenoid wire for the starter seems to be grounded and from looking at any wire diagrams that wire doesn't look like it is suppose to be grounded. So we began opening the wiring harness and we traced the wire , which is black with a yellow line, throughout the engine compartment and there were no signs of it being grounded. From tracing the wire we found out that it also branches off behind the firewall and into the dash of the truck. So I cut the wire where it goes into the firewall and did another continuity test on both sides of the wire. From that we found out that the short is on the inside of the vehicle. Now we did not do anything to the inside of the vehicle while swapping the motors.

 

Find anything significant yet on the wiring problem??

 

try to get it grounded and then see if the starter turns. if it doesnt i bet you have a solenoid issue

 

could you have possibly trapped a wire between the engine and transmission when putting it back in? Also electronic ignition check out ok? It is a rotary switch that can do or not do what it is supposed to do. Check for 12 volts at starter, and check for voltage at solenoid when ign key is turned to start position.

 

i suspect the ignition switch. how long till you switched out motors? Time, moisture, wire break????