It's a 94 civic hatch. This car was thrown together in a hurry. We have checked for bad connections or loose grounds and haven't come up with anything. When we first got the car going the dash lights worked but were very dim. Now none of the lights other than indicator lights(oil, battery, etc) will work. The drive reverse neutral d4 etc all light up but only when you hit the brake pedal. When you hit the brakes the lights light up on the shifter too but go out when you let off the brake. Then sometimes they won't come on at all. Also the shifter lock is not disengaging when the brake is applied.
I absolutely hate wiring issues. I wanted to check here in hopes that someone can say "yes this is your problem" if not we will go back to fishing for problems. Thanks in advance

 

Seems like your problem is definitely wiring. Sounds like you have a pinched wire some where, or a bare with grounding out some place. Maybe off the brake? Thats what I'd check first.

 

I would look at grounding, when one circuit, [brakes] have an effect on another circuit, [gear position indicator lights] it is almost always due to a grounding problem. 94