Yep... there was indeed one stop lamp that was not working. I took
out that lamp from its socket, put in the PARK LPS fuse and
all the problem symtoms are gone
... the tail lamps, parking lamps,
stop lamps and instrumental panel backlings, are seem to be working
now... at least the fuse didn't get blown right away when I turn the
lights on or step on the brakes. Even the check engine warning is
gone.
This is a huge step forward since I am getting most of the functionalities back for now except for one stop lamp. Thanks so much for your advice!!!