Frank,
It's good to know an honest mechanic... I've been driving my truck for about 7 or 8 years now... a 91 Ford Ranger... someday I'm going to have to have the dash worked on... the gas gauge hasn't worked since I got it, if I don't watch the mileage I can run out of gas.. so far only once.... not sure if the oil pressure gauge works... always reads normal, but never moves... same with the temperature gauge.. always reads just over warmed up... the battery gauge always shows charging at about 18.. ? whatever that means... the check engine light has been on for a year, the tachometer works one or two days a week... sometimes it just waves at me, other times it's set on "0".. last week every time I backed it out of the driveway the rear antilock break light would come on, as soon as I go forward it goes off, this week it's normal.. I don't like the radio on, but the wife and stepson ALWAYS turn it on and you can be driving along and the volume will suddenly go way up, but as soon as you reach to turn it down, it'll drop... it has a cassette deck that has more static than music, but it helps the radio if you keep a tape in the deck??.. for a while last year, every time I turned the head lights on, I would blow the passenger side bulb... couldn't find anything wrong, but finally put a new head light assembly in and stopped that. Now the muffler has a quarter size hold in one side.... I sound like Grandma ... phutt phutt phutt phutt as I got down the road.... so far, she has run every time I start it.... the longer I live in TN, the more like Pa Kettle I get... gonna have to fix it one of these days.....