T-Willy,
As far as what programs to suggest, it really comes down to two options: Cfgedit (freeware) and FS Panel Studio (payware). With CFGE, you open the existing FS panel and you get error msgs saying that the FS gauges are not available. Just click through the msgs or choose "do not warn me again about this type of error" and proceed to the main panel window. What you will see is the main panel bitmap with a lot of magenta- colored squares where the FS gauges are supposed to be, This is a good thing because it will help you to quickly position the replacement gauges in these squares after you get more comfortable with practice. But that's an advanced method i wouldn't recomment for you just now, because you also have to know how to completely delete the squares after all the mods are in place and covering them up. In the beginning it might be simpler to just delete all of the empty squares and place the new gauges without the squares getting in your way.
If you set up the prgm correctly in the options menu to know your CFS2 folder location, it will find the gauge folder. When you click on the "Insert new gauge" button on the taskbar, you will get a dropdown selection list of all the gauges in your CFS2 gauges folder. Just choose the ones you want and they will appear somewhere on the main screen. You can then move them into final positions. Save your work and CFGE will automatically create a backup of your original panel. Its main drawback is that it cannot read and display most FS2002 and 2004 C++ gauges, XML or bundled cab gauges, That's why you get the error messages even if you've put the original FS gauges into your CFS2 gauges folder. So that's the big picture -- but the devil is in the details ;-)
As for FSPS, it works the same in every way except its got a few small extras that can be handy. For one, it reads and displays ANY type of gauge from FS98 through FSX, which naturally includes CFS2 natives, cabs and XML's also. And in the process of replacements, it also allows you to actually swap gauges with right-clicking. You don't have to click the insert new gauge button on the taskbar, unless you want to. When you right-click on a displayed FS gauge, you get a menu that includes a swap option. Select this and the list of gauges will appear, from which you choose and its done -- without having to drag the new gauge to its final position. You may still need a few minor adjustments to size and position if the new gauge's size is any different than the original. You can even edit a gauge through the right-click menu if you want to change its look and save it as an entirely new gauge filename.
Just be careful not to choose any native FS2002-2004 gauges in your project -- they will not appear in the sim at all. The way you determine compatibilty of a gauge in both programs is to look at the version or gauge type details about a chosen gauge in the properties section of the selection list dialog window. It will tell you what sim type the gauge belongs to. The ones you can use are FS98, CFS, CFS2 and FS2000.
