Update from Friday:
Well I'm a bit disappointed in the HD service manual. It gives me next to nothing on trouble shooting these pieces of the speedo/gas problems.
I pulled the dash
Drained and Pulled the tank
Pulled the sending unit from the tank
And this is the only piece that they give any info on for checking the parts
The clip on the back of the swivel of the gauge sending unit was loose. I checked the range operation with ohms and it seems to be in the range specified in the book. The wiring don't look bad at first glance. Need to check for proper voltage on bike and check fuel gauge operation. But with what numbers? The manual gives me nothing.
Same goes for the speedo not working. Nothing for troubleshooting in the manual. Tells you how to remove it but that's it.
Saturday update:
Well I got it figured out. Spoke to the mechanic at the dealer. he gave me a couple a tips. I also found out that if you want electrical help you need to purchase a seperate electrical manual. They are published yearly so I bought one for my set of 2009s. But onward to this project.
First... on the gauge sending unit. He agreed the loose clip I tighted on the pivit pt may be causing some issue. But he said in 2002 or 2003 there was a service bulletin to trim the excess off the float arm. The 1/4" excess hangs up on either full or empty on the inside of the tank.
So I did trim it
Test it by moving the float by hand... Works. Re-installed with a new gasket (old one was dry rotting) and new replaceable sealing screws.
BAM... works with a full tank of 93 octane mixed up with some seafoam.
Second, the mechanic informed me that when cleaning a HD speedo sensor that you must never touch it with your hands, where clean rubber gloves, and clean with brake clean and soft cloth (like microfiber or diaper towel). So if it wasn't screwed up before (proven later it was) then cleaning it with a shop rag would damage it. (I dont get it that but will use caution when handling one in the future. He says its most likely the sensor cause I told him it was covered with shavings when I removed it. So I picked up a new one, which also is a improved (supersuicided version). (pointing at new one)
Got it wired in and yes officer I know how fast I was going.
So I buttoned up the project and calling this one a success. Got everything fixed, tuned, and polished up. All at 50% the budget I was given.