Thanks for the tips and pictures. They should help make sure that the second time can be the last time (at least for a few years).
For things like the power and ground for the gauge lights, are these normally run in series or brought back to a central point? I can see benefits both ways. Using strips like in the pictures would certainly make bringing these connections back to a central point neat and easier to manage and wire up but would any power or grounding be lost using this approach?