it was a bad ground where the sending unit meets the tank, thanks everybody :]

yes I have gas in the car, LOL but my gauge is all the way at the bottom. I had the cluster out to check my speedo cable, so I checked and rechecked all the plugs on the cluster, made sure the screws for the contacts on the fuel gauge were tight. I'm guessing sending unit. is there anything else I should look for? the other gauges work, so I assume its not a fuse, or does the fuel gauge work off a different fuse from other gauges. If it is the sending unit, is there a way I can find out without taking the sender out of the tank???

Check the ground wires

You can either measure the voltage at the sender unit while things are connected and turned on or disconnect the sender and check the resistance of the sender. You may also want to check the wiring going back to the gauge for a problem if the sender tests look good.

I agree with Glen and would like to add this......... Please carefully check your fuses. Even if they appear good and test good it doesn't mean that the connection of the blades is good enough. I have a kinda weird car because it's the EA82 3 door coupe and I have a fuse that is for the fuel that is directly connected to the gauge. In other words.. when my fuel pump fuse blows my gage says I'm empty. Good luck. Boing aka Jerry