TechJR

I've seen a problem like this before on a different make of car, turned out to be a loose harness connector on the back of the instrument cluster. A bad ground connection from the gauges would give you exactly those symptoms.

I've seen that frequently and it's usually just like you said; car sat in one position and a little bit of surface rust caused pitting. Keep an eye on it but from the pics it looks like no problem. You'll usually feel the brake pedal pulsing if it's cracked, which is rare on a car.

Here are some instructions for a very basic 2" lift. Some of it's a repeat of the discussion at http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/91636-markus56-getting-lifted/, some of it's original.