installing alternator 190d '84

[aaronolwell]

Ok, so i would love to get the 190 5sp up and running again, help me out please people (you've been so good to me before).
I managed to melt the wires from the alt to the three screws on the wheel well (and a couple of others) one day when i was charging the battery to jump-start and left it unattended. Don't know where the short was, came back to find a small flame and the wire insulation all gross and liquid. In my haste to deal with the crisis, i failed to note which of the three wires from the alternator was going to where, but if i remember they were all going to one of those three screws. After removing the melted wire i drove it on a charged battery once for 30min or so, and every so often after that i roll started it every so often to keep things lubed.
I decided that the three prong plug to the alt seemed salvageable, and soldered new wires to it.
Then, with the help of my cousin, who i reckoned knew more about electronics than i, we detected if i recall a charge off all three wires when running, (one higher than the rest?) and somehow i let him convince me to connect one of them to the NEGATIVE lead on the battery while the car was running. So, i'm thinking, we shorted it and fried the alt? or maybe just the volt regulator? Well, i replaced both, but have not yet tried reconnecting it yet for obvious reasons, although i drove the car again on a roll start.
So, where do i go from here? Hook 'er up and see what happens?
To be honest, you can assume i know next to nothing about electronics, although i've managed a few feats with the multimeter.
As for my rigged wire, i know it's not ideal, but if someone wants to sell me a used one...
Sorry to get lengthy, i thought it might make it more informative.

Aaron