Why would you change the starter if boosting the battery
gets it going ? There is nothing wrong with the starter.
Is the battery any good ? did you check for a drain ?
People don't change out dash boards. what part was changed ? do the " key in ignition " warning bells come on ? Do the seat belt warning buzzers come on ?

First of all the mechanic said lightning had struck the electrical system because the lights would not burn &would not start so he said another dash would fix it up.This was the foreman for a reputable Ford dealership so that is why the dash was installed by the Ford dealership.It was after that we started having the other problems.We have had several new batteries and last time Ford dealership put new battery.After we still have problems with we have had othe mechanics look at it and they have run diagnostic tests on it and said the computer could not pick up anything.Now we have it in shop still not knowing what the problem is.About the warning bells and seat belts the lights still come but dont know bout the sound.Some times we would be driving and all the interior lights would come on and we could not get the turned off and also the ingition was getting hard to turn and sometimes I would have to work with it to get it turned on they daid that was because of the steering wheel being in one direction too tight.Hope this helps some and thanks for answering
Rachel

Hasn't anypone done any measuring to identify the amount of battery drain? Or is everyone guessing?

First of all, with everyting off includig the engine, measure the amount of current drain at the battery terminals. There can be a very samll anount taken by the clock and 'keep alive' memory. A security system may take the most. The draw should be very samll, in the millamp ramge. A good repair manual may have the number, but these small drains are seldom discussed in the maintence manual if it is insignificent to begin with.

Measuring the current draw may help identify the source. Maybe a small lamp is lighted. Hidden lamps are glove box, trunk lid, and under hood lamp.

Some auto have a 'reading lamp' located in the rear passenger compartment. I had one that was on the wall above the rear seat. Its switch was not obvious. It was turned on by rotating the fixture. Once on, this lamp stays on even after the doors are shut and the suto vacated. It is manually operated.

If a search of car turns up nothing, then its time to begin tracing where the leak is at. This could be a terdious process since it could anywhere or anything especially if the car has been lightening struck as stated above.

If you are certain the damage was by lightening, it may be covered as storm damage by your insurnace. Check your policy.

I know of one case where a Ford Van was fried by lightening. Many components were ruined including the engine controller (computer). The shop decided to replace the entire wiring harnesses including some lamp sockets. This seemed expensive, but the cost was on par with paying a technician to track down all damages, and then it could not be assured that everthing would be found.

But before going the drastic route of complete replacement, try to ascertain for sure the cause of the damage. Did someone do a jump start and momentarily reverse the jumper cables? One or more alternator diodes could spoiled, for example.

Louisiana girl you are actually fortunate to have a electrical problem that is constant. Its the intermittent ones that really cause headaches and are hard to find. On your problem I would go to the main fuse block and pull the fuses now simply check for amp draw across each fuse, once you find the culprit circuit that is drawing amps (should be real easy if this is a good battery since it is drawing a bunch to pull it down in two days) follow your wiring diagram and isolate each component until you find your problem. A good amp/volt meter is a neccessity and a BIG can of patience/persistence is good to have handy with electrical problems. Note: Not sure if this vehicle uses the cruise control pressure disconnect that Ford has had so much trouble with? but they do tend to short to ground and the wiring is hot all the time even with the key switch off, it is actually a fire hazard (mounted on the brake fluid reservoir) so you might want to have that checked.

Thanks everyone for the imput on the car. The mechanic finished it up and it is going on nearly 2 weeks with out having to jump it off and running just fine.Thanks to all
rachel

Referene the draining battery: 1. Does the digital clock work? 2. Does the car chime keep sounding until door is shut? If so, unhook the non-working digital clock in the dash. This fixes the problem.

To gain access, you may have to remove the radio unit. The radio unit is easily removed by inserting 2 u-shaped wires (coat-hanger thickness) that can be fabricated, or for about 4 bucks, the Ford Radio removal tool (same thing) can be purchased at most parts stores. Insert until you feel a click, apply inward pressure on u shaped wires, and pull radio out. Then connector wires to digital clock should be accessible from underneath with the access through radio unit cavity. Disconnect or cut wires and then tape. This should correct the battery drain issue and cause the alarm to operate correctly. Good Luck.

Check the small black wire that runs to the fender its a grounding issue. reground it