Out of the blue yesterday, i go to start my car, runs for a few seconds, then my headlights turn off and I hear a pop sound thinking it was a fuse. I turn my car off, then try to restart it, and it doesn't even crank. I find the gauge fuse popped. I put a new one in, and everything ok. 30 mins later driving to work, I hit a bump in the road, again, headlights go out, so i then turn them on with the switch manually. What could be causing this short, and why doesn't the car start when this fuse is blown?

 

You "think" the fuse popped or it DID pop? If it did pop and keeps popping new ones, I'd get a hold of wiring diagram and see what all is tied into that fuse. I had something similar to that happen with my 87 IROC. The guage fuse just kept blowing as soon as I'd turn on the lights. It took me a while but I finally traced the short down to a burnt bulb behind the guage cluster that would create a short everytime the lights came on. See if you can find a diagram (shoebox maybe?) and enjoy the process of elimination game.