No it would not have saved the ballast.
Along with protecting against direct power overloads like a normal breaker, GFI ones primarily additionally protects people from voltage leakage to chassis/cases in ungrounded systems or grounded ones where the wired ground may not be the lowest resistance path to earth-ground.
i cant seem to find much about it online. You seem to know some about ballasts.
If I unplug the light side of the ballast (not the power cord side) will it damage things.
I ask because i was high as fk. One day i hear a BOOM. I go into the garden a few hours later. Bulb is blown and ballast is blown. Then i beging unhooking the sexond ballast an accidently unplug the light side cord first. BOOM.
2 ballasts down 1 light blown.
The last light running is trying to maintain the garden until later today.
I was wondering if you have ever hear of this? Blown bulb blowing a ballast? Then also the 2nd Ballast blowing out due to unplugging light side cord first?
Thank you