Exactly which fuse(s)?
The rear tail lights, license plate lights and front clearance lights are all powered from the same fuse, so if that fuse blows, all those lights are off. The fuse is #5, 10 Amps, in the cabin fuse panel. (See page 12-6 of the 2000 Owners Manual, available at Vehicle Resources )
In that generation, the most common cause of the fuse blowing is a short in the #1157 dual filament tail/brake lights at the back. The contacts on the bulbs flatten over time and short to ground, blowing the fuse. There's four of these across the back. If the bulbs aren't new, any one could cause the short. See I have a very perplexing electrical issue.
I came across a really odd case where the bulb socket had developed a mechanical short: See 2003 H6 clearance light fuse blowing due to unusual...
Bypass what, which connector, and which wire has a dead short?
