electrical problems on an '85 s-10

[saskatchewan]

I was starting my truck the other day and as usual it didnt stay running the first time for more than a few seconds.
When I tried to start it again nothing happened.
Then I noticed that all the guages were off so I turned the key off and back on again.
It was as if the battery was not even connected.
After a while of checking the battery and leads and pulling fuses and such trying to figure out what was wrong I finnally disconected the battery.
That seemed to reset something because everything worked after that until I try to start it again.
Any ideas what could be wrong?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.