Funny you mention the solid state, prior to removing the cluster I had been reading up on troubleshooting the fuel/temp gauge failure. Seems the most common failure is the voltage regulator, and since it wasn't my fuel sender or a bad ground, that was my next plan of attack. I found some solid state IVRs and it seemed like a good retrofit, and you mentioning it just confirms that it's a good way to go.
Agreed. The wiring behind the cluster didn't seem too bad, but I guess all it takes is one bare wire or piece of metal to short it. Unless there was a power surge somewhere that a fuse didn't catch?
