HI TO ALL YOU TEKIES OUT THERE I NEED HELP & ADVICE

I have a ford mondeo mk3 2.5 v6 auto 2002. when i turn on the ignition the instrument cluster lights up like a xmas tree, after afew seconds the only light to go out is the airbag one, when i start the car the only light that goes out is the oil light, the rest are still on & the rev counter is not working. take it on to the road for a short drive, The speedo is not working either, also there is a hard jerk between 1st & 2nd gear & a hard jerk from 2nd to 3rd gear 4 & 5 are ok. I'm trying to sort out this problem by myself due to not enough cash funds. I have ordered a new/secondhand instrument cluster to see if that sorts it out.
I have been told it might be all linked to the ECU/PCM as this controlls most of the car. I have also been told it could be a short in the wireing so i'm at a loss now if the new cluster doesn't do the job.

PS the engine always starts and runs fine, & all fuses are ok.

I changed the instrument cluster today (06/03/2010) and the problem is still there, the cluster is showing the same faults as the origanal one. When i do a test there is a lot of numbers & codes but I don't know what they mean, so I don't know if they are faults or not.