gear position

good day all, 2 weeks ago i picked up a barnfind buick, engine turned over and getting into gear was just fine. After drying and stripping it in my workshop me and a friend just did a little check where i would go true al the gears and he would see and listen for anything. But when i got down...

I inherited a 1993 Century where the gear position indicator on the dashboard isn't working. It goes into gear just fine, but can't see the position and that fails the MD safety inspection. Also the instrument panel lights are intermittent, but I can't tell if the GPI is electric or has...