electrical mystery here -

a little while back my directional signal went on the blink. the symptom was, i'd flip the switch and sometimes, instead of the directional light blinking on and off, the amp light would blink on and off. i checked the fuses (all good) and cleaned the connections in the fuse box, to no avail. it's not the blinker relay (i just replaced that with a brand new one). and then the plot thickened. couple weeks ago, i turned the ignition key on (i've got one of those starter buttons under the dash) but the oil/amp lights didn't come on, and the fuel gauge didn't turn on. i hit the starter and boom, fired right up. since then, every time i turn the key, same thing happens. no amp/oil light, no fuel gauge. and here's where it gets interesting. if i give a little hand bump on the dash, underneath the ignition switch, the lights/gauges go on. another bump, they go off. and if i turn the directional signal on and the amp light does it's funny thing, i bump the dash, and it starts working.

any idea what's going on here/what i need to replace?

many thanks

floyd r.