NO NO NO! Don't short the positive and negative battery terminals together! That will put a direct short across the tow vehicle battery, and things will get exciting, somewhere, fast!
And on a lighter note, do you have a swing tongue? If so, the problem is undoubtedly the ground between the tongue (where the jack is mounted) and the frame (where the negative side of the power system is connected). As a long-term measure, you should add a short jumper wire across the hinge. As a temporary measure, a jumper cable will do it. As a matter of curiousity, when you put the TM away, were you hitched up, with weight on the hitch ball? And when you tried it recently, was the TM not on the hitch, with the weight supported by the scissors jacks?
If you don't have a swing tongue, Dave's idea of a blown fuse somewhere is a logical next step. You have a 2008 TM, so I think you have an outdoor "porch light" on the street side that you can turn on without opening the TM. Does it work?
Or it could be that a contact in one half of the Bargman or the other got corroded. Since the jack pulls a lot of power, it would show up in that connection, where it might not show up in the connection for the lights.
Bill
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