OKAY, now we are getting somewhere...
Called & talked to Yury... It seems that with auto/manual swaps like mine, WS has not been able to rope down an exact formula by VIN with respect to the 7-pin and 4-pin style connectors... As it turns out, the 7-pin connector at the top left of the pic is supposed to connect to the 4-pin connector mounted to the fuse box at the top of the pic:
I also examined the Nismo speedo when I had it out & the circuitry appears to be the exact same as the 180SX with nothing visibly cooked...
Weird thing is that Yury also said my oil pressure & alternator charge run thru these connectors... but I've driven the car at LEAST 300-400mi seating the rings and have yet to have any charging or oil pressure-related issues. I just sent off an email and Yury said the connector I need to join them will go out in the mail on Monday. Bad news is that I will prolly have to take the damned dash apart again
However, I suppose a JDM tyte speed speedo is worth twice the trouble
Will update with the fix (fingers crossed) soon.
Thanks everyone for the inputs so far~
Mike