Electrical Problem?? Please Help!

I'm having an electrical problem and have no clue what it is. I'm a noob and still learning so please take it easy on me. Here is my problem, well one of them anyway lol.

So, I'll start from the beginning. My '93 LX 302 would start fine and run fine until one day, I would come out of work to leave and it would be dead. I'd need to jump it. Once I jumped it, I was fine. BUT it started to get worse and dying more frequently. So, one day I turned it off, went into work and forgot something so I came back out only a few minutes later. Well, when I got in my car, the radio was on! It was NOT on when I turned it off and there is no key in the ignition mind you. So, I was baffled. I put the key in, jiggled it (because the ignition switch/lock is messed up (bought it like that, haven't had the car that long). So after that it was fine. So I had to be real careful after that but only drove it a few more times until my front end problem started and had to stop driving it. I parked it. I had let the battery die again while it was parked so I just ended up buying a new one. But since it was parked, I just disconnected the new one so it wouldn't drain. Well it been a while and that battery ended up dying.

So since it was just sitting because I couldn't afford to fix the front end problem, I figured I'd just jump it next time I wanted to start to car. So just recently, I thought it's time to bring it back out and try to work on it (its a project). Well, I had to jump the battery of course. So I jumped it, it starts right up (never gives me a problem starting if there's juice) and let it run for a while because it has been sitting. But when I went to depress the clutch to put it in gear to move it, it dies! And will NOT start again unless it is jumped. I mean it dies completely, no light nothing. And it will die everytime. So it is currently not drivable at all.

I did some research and I think I narrowed it down to something electrical (yeah , I know not too narrowed but I'm a noob still). I know it could probably be several things but here are some things to consider:

Previous owner did all of this btw

gauge cluster was messed with (he went for the white faces, don't know exactly what he did though, whether the whole cluster was replace or not)
every gauge is either off or don't work
aftermarket radio was installed BUT I completely uninstalled it to replace it and there is currently NO radio
heater core is bad, antifreeze leaks of course BUT I made sure there was enough in there at the time.
I can tell there used to be additional gauges (one on the dash, a few on the door) but they were removed before I bought the car
he had some kind of neon lights installed because the switch that controlled them remains (its just disconnected)
there is a 'chip' that helps prevent theft that you must use in order to start it. which i have and it seems to work fine i guess

I tell you guys all this because it is all electrical related and may be contributing to the problem. So, what do you guys think?? I would so appreciate any help with this as I would love to get it 'drivable' again at minimal expense. I mean I was gonna start with the front end (horrible clunking, popping like sound; but that's a whole other thing) until this happened. So I'm open to anything I could possibly do myself. Sorry for the long post but I wanted to give as much info as possible to help.
Thanks a lot!

Thanks for your help. I think I will try the ignition switch first. I mean its can't hurt to ave a new one as I do think something may be wrong with it. I'll take your advice and go from there. I'll keep posted on the progress and when I fix it, I can help anyone else with the problem too. Thanks!

I really want to replace that switch now and see. I think I'll pick on up today if I get a chance. But would that be causing it not to start back up again once it dies? Maybe the switch AND the alternator maybe? Thanks

Well, I mean I can jump it no problems and let it run for a few. But as soon as I press the clutch in to put it in gear, it dies completely. If I try to start it back up, it does absolutely nothing, not even a click. So then I have to give it another jump in order to start it back up. So "not to start up" is nothing at all, no turning over, no electrical. That's why I think it may be a combination of things because maybe the ignition switch AND the alternator is bad. Could any of this also cause the gauge cluster gauges not to function or be inaccurate?

OK, so I bought a new ignition switch and replaced it. Didn't do anything. While I was replacing that, I figured since I had the panel and steering wheel trim off, I would just go ahead and remove the white gauge faces that the previous owner had put on. I didn't like them and they were wired up so I think they may have lit up or something. So removing those gave me a chance to remove some random wiring. I figured you never know, it could be contributing to the problem. But of course, it wasn't. So after replacing the switch and removing those, I jumped it again. It started right up. I let it run way longer this time to give the battery a chance to charge. And this time I didn't try pressing down the clutch to see if it stalls. Instead I first tested the alternator by removing the positive cable. That seemed fine because it continued to run fine. Then, I thought ok, I'll try to **** it off and restart it. I turned the key to off and I still had a working dome light unlike last time. But when I went to turn the key again, it died. With the steering wheel collar off, I examined the key cylinder/switch. I don't know what a normal one on this car looks like, but this one looked messed with and I don't think the key lock works right. So I was either thinking battery (even though its newer), battery cables (they look a little rough) or something with the actual ignition itself maybe. So here is where I'm at now.

I keep hearing mixed answers about disconnecting the positive cable from the battery. Even my Dad has told me that but he is old school. Yeah, it's looking like it is not a good idea. Hopefully I didn't make things worse :/ I don't think so though. So I think I'm gonna take the battery in and have it checked. If it's bad then I should get a new one seeing as it is still under warranty. Then maybe I'll pick up some new cables too. I'm still wondering about that column/key cylinder though.