Van won't start, short circuit? bad relay of some kind?

i have a 2005 Town & Country that now won't turn over.  When I just turn the key to the on position (not even to start) the gauges flip around, the odo flashes intermittently as if there's some kind of short, and i can hear a regular, repetitive clicking from an area behind the battery that sounds like an electrical relay of some sort trying to engage but failing.  Short history that may be related:  I recently replaced the blower motor resistor since the AC blower would stop after about 10 min of driving.  (Btw, replacing the resistor worked for a while, then failed again, so something else is going on).  I had disconnected the battery when I replaced the resistor and then 5 days later the car wouldn't start.  It's 2 year old battery, so I assumed there was corrosion on the terminal and I had not reconnected it tightly enough.  At that time, a quick jumpstart got it going again. A couple days later, it wouldn't start again, would only "click" when turning the key (e.g. starter solenoid).  Now, it won't even do that, just this repetitive relay sound and the "short-circuit" appearance on the gauges/readouts.  Ideas?  At least it's in my garage!