Battery? Alternator? Something Else?

[skadakia15]

OK guys, thanks for all the tips. I spent the better part of this weekend troubleshooting.
I think all signs point to the alternator being the culprit.

Battery is brand new as stated. I took the battery down to AutoZone, they tested it and said it was OK and recharged it for me.

Got an Ammeter set up to show me the draw and I found out that my draw was +3 Amps (not 3 hundreths or 3 tents, 3 full amps) with the car off (no key even in the ignition).

I pulled every single fuse to no avail. Only 1 fuse gave me some hint of a response. There is a 25 Amp fuse labeled "Engine Electronics" (Block C, Row 1). When I pull it, nothing happens however when I reinstall it the amps temporarily dip down (to like 500 mA) then immediately right back up to about 3 Amps.

I then removed the +12V hookups from the Starter and still had a 3 Amp draw.

Finally I removed the Alternator and my draw fell down to 10-20 mA.

Now the only glitch in all of this is that I took the Alternator to AutoZone and on their test it "passed" all 3 categories (regulator, rectifier, and something else). I can't explain this. My thought is that either their test is not looking at how much current the alternator draws but only that it's output is correct. Or that with the alternator connected, it completes a circuit to something else that is shorted.

I have ordered a new Alternator and will receive and install it tomorrow. I'll update everyone with what I find. Thanks again for the help.