as per my previous power failure problem, i took the stereo out again and examined it to realize that the red acc cable was pulled out of its connection. with the power reestablished, i completed the bypass.
as per the grounding issue for the last post - after you run the green wire from its original position to the new position, take another wire, strip one end, and wire it around a screw that's attached to the chassis or firewall. then strip the other end and insert it into the new slot you just plugged the green wire into.