thanks guys (and gal), I sure have been milking this one. want it right though.
put in the dolphin gauges, I used the factory speedo pulse wire, its goo a nice setup where you drive a mile to calibrate. if only!
first I had to battle the oil pressure sender. the factory location is under the distributor and I saw no reason to go somewhere else, but there are fuel lines and the distributor to avoid. I found the sender port slightly loose! that was my oil leak I couldnt find on the drivers side head, the valve cover gasket was ok.
this was fun on a bun to get down there, basically lay across the top of the engine compartment legs all akimbo sticking out the front, reaching straight down. miserable. next time I plan gauges with the cab OFF.
but while I was in there messing around I thought I would go ahead and break the evap purge solenoid, you know, for funsies.
$40 later (17 on rock auto but who has time to wait?) it started and ran, everything reads correctly
the fuel gauge is actually right, its almost out of gas, remember I got it slap empty and so I need to put more than a gallon or two in it. I used an interface box to match the ohms of the stock sender to what the dolphin set was looking for and it worked great. the coolant sender is in the heater core inlet line, to get a pure reading that way (on the outlet it would be cooler).
I cut the lens of the stock gauges to fit the dash better and I think they will fit above the brake pedal bracket, at least that is where I have the wiring run, hope I dont need to move it.
still considering dropping the front a couple inches. if I get the interior buttoned up and the seat isnt done yet, I might.