At 01:49 PM 12/10/2009, John Rodgers wrote...
>My question is - "Has anyone ever hardwired the  instrument pod in
>lieu
>of the dash foil?"

I have, partially. The traces where the connector attaches were
starting to delaminate, so I cut the wires a couple of inches away, and
wired in a Molex Mini-Fit Jr. connector. I also tie wrapped the
original connector firmly in place. Now, I can remove the cluster
without disturbing the delicate part.