[Longhorn Man]

did you post and delete a similar question yesterday?
As mentioned, the lights are only tested in the crank or start position, not in the run position.
The reason you didn't mess anything up when you put power to that wire is becouse the positive wire turns to a ground when there is no power to it. So you powered the ground wire, and it grounded through the power wire. Funny how that works.
If you want to get this sorted out while the carb is off, disconnect the purple wire on the starter, or even unplug the neutral safety switch and turn the as much as you want (assuming mechanical fuel pump).
One other note, if you have a guage instermant panel (as opposed to a dummy ligh unit) then the temp light isn't supposed to come on at all... as wired by GM.