Whacky center cluster or installer?

[Clayton]

My center cluster bracket has gone missing. So, I made one out of plumbers tape. I then find out when I tighten the thumb nut, the gas gauge goes dead ( all else works). I further figured out if you simply pull back on the bolt that the thumb nuts goes on....that is what is causing the problem. Anybody cross this bridge?

[Clayton]

Sorry for the double posting. I pulled the trigger on a different forum by mistake

[Clayton]

Pretty cool when you figure out your own problem ( well, with a little help from the tech manual). The two side thumb nuts were missing on the back of the center cluster. This caused the plate to pull away from the cluster. At the same time, I was able to repair my rheostat to full working order.....What a happy day in Pagodaville.