battery dead!

just bought a series 2 1961 lwb diesel.
only had it two days and the engine cut out pulled out but didnt stop the engine, having to stall it to stop it.the lever dosnt go in when i turn on ignition. since been doing this the battery has gone dead and now need to jump start to get going the battery is not charging when i have driven around.are these problems connected or sepperate problems. cheers andrew. please help.

Check your earth lead. There should be one running from the starter mounting bolts to the chassis. If the engine isn't earthing properly it could have been earthing through the stop cable and melted that.
Can't see any other way the problems could be related.