The original
pigtail from the cowl lamp bulb wire was also a bullet end. You snake the pigtail wire through the cowl light arm and connect it to the wiring harness inside the cowl using a torpedo connector. I'm having difficulty imagining what it you describe, unless you are talking about the socket inside the lamp. You might post a picture. An exposed brass plate would be a direct path from hot to ground unless it was wrapped with tape.
The bullet wire ends (which are soldered onto the wires) are available from all the vendors, like
these from Snyders. You use
this type of connector to tie two bullet-ended wires together.