Welcome to Bronco Zone!!! There is a plastic vent tube inside the filler neck hose that can get kinked or pinched, and it will make filling the tank very hard to do with some pumps. Try to keep the nozzle from the gas pump as far out as you can to keep the check valve from constantly tripping and shutting off the nozzle. While all nozzles have the check valve, the ones with a plastic cover seem to be worse. you'll have to slow down the flow some, too. Maybe someone knows where to get a new vent tube, I haven't found it anywhere, JSM84
As for the gauge not working, it's often the sending unit inside the gas tank causing the problem, as the float will break apart over time. The carbed models from 80-86 just have the sending unit, while EFI models in 87-up have the s.u. and fuel pump together, costing a bit more. Either way, it takes dropping the tank and replacing the sending unit.