You have the rare cluster with gauges minus the tach. You have the correct temp and oil pressure senders. All you'll need to do is swap in the full cluster with the tach, and everything will work.
Any idea how to get it so they're not taking over half my screen when posting? It must be a firefox setting, or something weird with the new version, because it wasn't like this before I formatted and reinstalled Windows yesterday.
You're probably still better off with a full XJ console, and just fabbing some cupholders where the shifter would go. The missing e-brake handle really isn't that big of a deal, you can easily block off the slot if it's an issue.
I used a vacuum bleeder on my '87 2.5 after I replaced the external slave. It worked fine.
87 wouldn't be an external slave, did you swap it from an internal?
It doesn't take that much air to only partially work.
Are you sure you're bleeding it correctly? The external slaves have to be removed, and fully compressed during bleeding. You cannot bleed it with it still attached to the bellhousing.
To see if it's either the motor or something on the motor, make sure it's completely cold, pop the belt off, and start it up. Rev it up a few times, and see if you hear the noise.
Pull the vacuum line off the regulator and see if it's wet/smells like gas. This would indicate that the regulator isn't working, and seeping gas into the vacuum system.