Gauges do not work when starting car car will not start

The ignition switch is a common suspect. I can't remember how many circuits it has or what is on each one, but it was pretty common for one section to develop burned contacts and the radio, heater fan, and power windows would not work, especially for people who regularly used the heater fan on the highest settings.

When the switch contacts have been overheated that almost always migrates out to the connector terminals where you'll see two of them are black and the plastic connector body is melted.