Now I can see why it can be such a problem. Thank you all for your guidance here.
With the aid of very soft plastic prying tools I was able to disconnect the plug from the cluster. I have marked off all the wires on the harness with letters corresponding to the wiring diagram for future reference.
I also removed the temp gauge from the cluster, next I will need to buy a voltmeter (to replace temp gauge) and some different colored 18g wires as well as some new bulbs/sockets (seeing as every one I have has broken tabs. All my bulbs were on the floor buried in about a foot of rat poop when I got the truck home).
I'm slowly mapping out the routes my wires will be taking to get to the proper place, I will be eliminating the GEN light and OIL light seeing as they are or are going to be replaced with gauges.
