OK/ working backwards from sending unit (because it was brand new) I did find a pinch in wires about 10" back from sending unit;probabl=y did that during trans swap, cut that out and soldered/heat shrinked back together/ no dice. swapped dash gauge with known good one out of another cluster i have; still no go.
(doing everything but another sending unit because I have stuff layin around (Cost $0) and giving a brand new part the benefit of the doubt.
so I then swapped sending units between my 92 and 96 Dakotas, (both 318s) and broke the one taking it out of the 92 so I could not try taht one in the 96, but the brand new one that I had just put in to the 96 did NOT work in the 92 either, the 92 was working fine before I broke the sending unit that came from it, as does the new replacement that I went and bought for the 92, so that proves that (at least) the new sending unit that I bought for the 96 is bad.