I have the cruise control disabled so do I need a brake? switch with the cruise control setup
Yep; you still need something to work the brake lights.
Do I need a brake switch with or without the cruise control since I have the cruise control disabled?
There are 2 switches for brake lights . One with cruise control , one with out . If you are getting the 4 connector switch then use the two terminals that are pointing to the driver . The two pointing to the left side of the car are for the cruise. I would start at the tail lights. Pull the brake light bulbs out of the sockets and then see if the wires are still getting hot . If the wires still get hot then you have a short some where . If not then reinstall the bulbs one at a time checking that the bulbs light and the wires are not hot.
Do you know where the common ground would be for the rear brake lights and tail lights? I was going to check and clean that to if i knew where it was at
The ground wire is screwed to the chassis right below the rear hatch latch .