[tripletdaddy]

Alternator would definitely be my first check. All of the electrical symptoms listed indicate an alt going bad, dead bat, alt light on and off, funny electical activity indicated by radio, rubber smell maybe is seizing alt, smell could also be alt shorting out, consistent with the dead battery. Sniff the alt, see if it smells like the rubber and plastic you smelled. Did you hear any high pitch, ticking, chirping, grinding or scraping noises? One of the idler pulleys may be starting to seizing causing the belt to get slip, get hot and not spin the alt fast enough. I'm still suspicious of the alt gone bad. An independent, reputable shop should be able to handle this. Dealers and chains are expensive. This should not require the specialty of the dealer. Unfortunately, new or high end rebuilt alt is around $200+ and labor should not be more than two hours. So, around $300 max?