First i want to thank everyone for helping me with this because you ALL helped me save about $250 on an unnecessary alternator.
I took the battery to WalMart and they had to recharge it for about 40 minutes before they could check to see if it was defective. The battery seemed to be okay.
I took it to WalMart instead of calling AAA again because I noticed that the car's clock had stopped 3 hours after AAA last charged it. So not only was i unable to charge it with the alternator (because i was trying to do so in idle-- a fact i learned right here), but the battery must be losing power even when the car is off.
One of the strange things i remembered was that in addition to the ABS and other warning lights coming on, i also heard a very low hum coming from one of the rear speakers. The radio hasn't worked since i got the car but i was told that all i needed was the activation code. I got that from the dealer but was unable to enter it when i tried so the dealer told me to bring it in so they could check it.
When i replaced the battery the car worked fine and has continued to work since yesterday.
My conclusion is that i must have done something trying to program the radio-- which was the day before the car failed to start-- that caused the radio to use power even when the car was off. I guess removal of the battery triggered the security mechanism that shuts the system down because i haven't heard a peep from the speaker and the battery is holding power.
Now i can use the $250 to start trying to find out what's wrong with my electrical system
Thanks again fellas!

k. darkman
1987 300D Turbo 191,100