Have you entered the self diag mode to see if any DTC'S have been logged?

It does sound like a faulty dash, the above problem mentioned I believe was when the ignition was switched off and both fuel and temp gauges "Jump" to the half way mark I believe this is what the Watchdog feature was about, nothing major, obviously in your case it's a little different to this. A member on here also said before if the car is 2002 (IIRC) Ford will sell you the dash for £50,

Martin