yes, check the float out of the tank, if the gauge swung over when you grounded the wire, the wire is good [and the gauge], and it should work if the sender works
"When we tug a single thing in nature, we find it attached to the rest of the world" ~ John Muir "When we tug a single thing on an old truck, we find it falls off" ~ me Some TF series details & TF heater pics