89 formula dash light problem

i have no gauge illumination...a few days ago i was driving at night and when i hit the high beams the dash went dark....the 5 amp fuse was blown so i changed it...it worked for about 30 seconds then blew the fuse again so i put a 10 amp fuse instead of a 5 and it worked for about 30 secs again then went dark but didn't blow the fuse...please help me

NEVER put in a higher amp fuse in a circuit that keeps blowing fuses...You probably burned a wire since you said the fuse didn't blow.
One of the common places for a short is atthe EGR solenoid connector..this is wired to the gauge fuse circuit.

i know it was a bad plan but i ran out of 5 amp fuses....i took the dash apart and the lower panel had a burn mark in the foam at the base of the steering column on the right hand side if your sitting in the driver seat

so a little update i replaced the green wire running from the headlight switch to the fuse box and i must not have used a high enough gauge wire cause it caught on fire and shot flames out my driver side vent...I'm waiting for it to warm up so i can tear into it...good thing i have a few parts cars

Did you install the correct amperage fuse?

i did...the fire was from the headlight switch...the brightness knob melted (not the wire i installed) so ill replace that when i get paid