"...the metal foil stuff (I'm assuming that's the printed circut) was slighty loose and crunchy sounding..."

Yep. I went through that with my '83 244 GL. I ended up soldering "pigtails" to the foil, where the foil was solid, and jumping them wround the edge connector, where the harness connects to the flex-circuit. This solved the connection problem for years 'til the car was junked due to rust.

"...a missing socket for the other taillamp bulb..."

Scrounge one from a junk.

"If this printed circut needs to be replaced, how much is this going to run me?"

Buy an entire tail light assembly from the boneyard. The flex-circuit might be too easily damaged during replacement.

"...gas gauge is shot---which is making me afraid to drive the car..."

The gas gauges on the 240s are notoriously non-linear. Most 240 owners learn to judge the need for fill-up by watching the trip odometer. I refill my 240s when the trip odo gets to 300-325 for local driving or 325-350 for sustained highway driving.

"...why the fuel gauge does not work..."

Does work at all, or is it completely non-functional?

One common problem is loose nuts......

"...get for spending $440..."

For an '89, you did GOOD. The car is undoubtedly worth more -- use the unspent extra $$ to restore it the way you want.

"...a poor college kid how to work on his own Brick, and save some cash..."

Just stick around here and ask the right questions. And check the FAQs...

--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)