So I finally got around to this (sort of)...
Checked the C148 connector under the hood, had to remove the air filter housing to get to it. Looked pretty dirty had to clean it off with some electrical parts cleaner to even be able to tell the different color wires apart.
I used my radio shack resistors and test leads on the male end of the plug and validated my cluster is not the problem. Fuel Gauge came to life just as it should with the corresponding resistance above...
So decided I moved on to the C415 connector, had to remove the rear driver's side wheel to reach it. Then realized I need to the pointy test leads to test it as the female end leads to the cluster, but I forgot them.
So it's either the fuel level sender or the connection. Gonna verify this another day.