Instrument cluster not working properly?

You're popping the pointers on at the wrong times. Unlike the old thermal and magnetic gauges of the past, these are "stepper" motors. They have four electromagnetic coils that are pulsed with varying voltages and polarities to set the armature to the desired position. (Idle speed motors on the throttle body work exactly the same way).

To set the pointers, start with the cluster connected but the pointers removed. You know the speedometer should read "0 mph" when you're standing still, so you know where to put that pointer. For the tach, some models leave the pointer at the last engine speed when you turn the ignition switch off. To address that, just turn the ignition switch back to "run" with the engine off. Install that pointer at "0". Watch if there are little stop pegs at "0". Don't get the pointer on the wrong side of that peg.

For the other gauges, install those pointers where they should be based on your prior experience. I like to press them on just enough to hold them in place at first. That makes it easy to get them off if one needs to be repositioned a little. For example, if it's normal to see the temperature gauge just a hair under the halfway point, install it that way with the engine warmed up. The fuel gauge is a little trickier. The only way to know when it should read exactly "empty" is to run it out of gas. I like mine to read a little below "empty" when I run out, but if you do that, be aware some models can require up to five gallons to get them to restart. Once restarted, that five-gallon minimum no longer applies. The fuel pump's pick-up screen sits in a small bowl to prevent gas from running away on corners when the level is real low. Once the engine is running, the excess gas being pumped goes back into the tank through the pressure regulator on the engine or inside the tank. That keeps that bowl full while driving. When you fill after running out, on my '88 Grand Caravan, for example, the gas being poured in dumps right into that bowl. A pint of gas is enough to restart the engine. On .my '94 Grand Caravan, the gas being poured in misses that bowl. This is where it takes at least five gallons for the level to get high enough to spill over into the bowl. At that point the pump has gas to pump and the engine will run. The bowl will be kept full and you can use up all of those five gallons.

To say that a simpler way, if you do run it out of gas to know where to set the pointer, don't panic if the engine doesn't run after you put some gas in. You may just need more gas that first time to get the engine restarted.