key wont turn

ive had a mysterious electrical issue in my steering column, and my battery died... whenever i turn the wheel all the way to either side a short kills the battery...

ive been trying to find the problem... and now my steering column is locked and i cant turn the wheel. I tried hooking up a battery and putting the key in the ignition so i could unlock the wheel, maybe start the car and watch the column to see what parts are moving, but the damn key wont turn...

it gets in ok, but when i start to turn it forward it is locked and wont move, and the car starts beeping. the car is definately in park, and i tried it in neutral too and get the same thing>.. whats the deaL??