There is an
older thread which has info on 23rd series bulb or tail light housing removal. It might give you some information because for things like that Chiltons and Motors manuals are not much help.
As to the brake lights not working, almost all the issues others have had seem to have been due to a failed brake light switch so you might start there. The switch is located at the end of the master cylinder and is powered at all times from a circuit breaker on the back of the instrument cluster.
The 23rd series 49-50 cars were the first Packards to share the same rear bulb filament for brakes and turnsignals. If you have turn signals that work then the brake switch is most likely at fault but since the wire from the brake switch goes thru the turn signal switch it could also be a bad or dirty contact in that switch or in the round plug between the loom and short bunch of wires coming out of the steering column right under the dash edge. Bad grounds caused by rust on the body sheetmetal or corrosion in the pot metal housing where the mounting studs make electrical contact with the body and housing are well known issues on almost all postwar Packards.
On the 1154 and 1158 bulbs, if you look at the details they both have the same 3-21 candlepower rating but numbers are reversed so I suspect the difference must be how the side pins are positioned to orient the bulbs in the socket.
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