now the air conditioner will not work and the temperature gauged will not register

I am not sure this is the same issue. So, we need to do some testing that will help us figure out if these issues are related.

Let's start with checking the pressure on the A/C system. Here is a guide that will help:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/re-charge-an-air-conditioner-system

Next we need to monitor the coolant temperature with a scan tool or a meter and see if it is not reading correctly.

Here is a guide that will help with this:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-wiring

I attached the wiring diagram below but if the AC pressure is correct then we need to check this voltage.

However, if the pressure is not correct then we need to address that first and then deal with the temperature sensor as I suspect they are not related.

Please run through this info and let us know what questions you have.

Thanks