help! fuel gauge kind of works?

I had the same issue, though I didn't pull it until after the "hook" had torn through the wires, making it non-functional.

I'm not sure how you'd fix this particular issue. You could trim off the old contact, cut a new piece of brass and rivet(?) or braze it in place, I guess. A little tricky with paper-thin 45-year-old corroded brass.

One thing, don't buy one of the "new replacement" fuel senders -- they are complete crap. They were designed for a different model, and have a different pivot point and sweep to the float arm, so they read "full" with 8 or 10 gallons, and never reach "empty", which makes them pretty useless.

Better to find somebody who is changing to 3/8 fuel line and get their old sender -- that is what I had to do. A new float and screen and it was good to go.

RedFish said

I have a pic of one possible cause here somewhere. There is a brass contact in the sender that slides on a resistor wire. After 40 years of wear what was a stamped spot becomes a fish hook of sorts. It will catch the resistor wire and stay caught right there.
Other common cause is a saturated float. Those get a tiny hole in them and fill with gas.
In either case the sender is not functioning. The gauge is working exactly like it should,
2 needle positions, home, empty.

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