one thing i learned early on: do not connect the negative jumper cable to the battery. if you get a small spark to travel along that cable (as you can imagine, it can travel very quickly) you can fry your alternator and the alternator of the car that is jumping you.
i am not talking about crossing the cables. that, obviously, has inherent dangers to it.
you can usually find a piece of metal to set the ground to. my favorite is the accessory brackets, alternator, power steering, whatever. just never connect the ground jumper to the battery negative terminal.
it sounds like you toasted your alternator. at first, you were able to drive whereever, then you got jumped after work and made it a mile, then got another jump and made it two feet. if it's not the alternator, i will eat it. just bring it over with a little ketchup and a nice little chianti.
