longtime lurker first time poster...help(real bad idle)

Driving home on the freeway and my instrument panel lights go out. The instruments themselves haven't worked for sometime but the car ran fine so when the lights go out I figure no big deal, I'm planning on replacing the cluster soon but for the time being it hasn't been a problem. I get off the freeway and when I come to a stop the engine won't rev down and it's racing pretty high, I can't tell how high due the the panel being busted but I can hear it and so can the guy in the car next to me who's thinking I'm crazy revving my engine at the red light.
Clutch in engine idles hard
Clutch out engine idles hard
Turn car off and back on engine idles hard
Put car in third gear and don't press gas the car runs forward no problem
I made it home, car stinks of burning clutch and brakes.
What's are some potentials here?? I've been searching on-line with no real results. The clutch and brakes are both new in the last 2 months. Just changed oil and flushed radiator. I need to replace the oil dipstick and tubing. I don't think any of that is relevant to this, I imagine the cluster and electronics are. I had a problem a while ago with misfiring but got that taken care of.......any ideas for what I should be looking at would be great...thanks...

When you say it idles hard, do you mean it is misfiring and not idling at an even speed? Or is it still racing along at some elevated rpm?
There is an idlea air control valve (though Jetta may have a different name for it), that lets air come in when your foot is off the gas. They control the idle speed by changing how much air they allow to bypass the throttle valve. And they eventually all get dirty and sticky. They may stick 'open' causing a fast idle, or stick shut - causing a poor idle or running so slow the engine stops. They can stick in between too. With a little bit of dismantling, its possible to squirt throttle body cleaner into them, and perhaps free them up for a while.
You could also have a vacuum leak, where one of the vacuum hoses has come off its connection to the manifold, or has a crack in the hose. This lets in extra air: Meanwhile the mass air flow sensor is telling the computer that you have very little. air coming in. The result would be a very lean mixture at an idle; a rough idle with lots of misfiring. Check for any vacuum leak letting air into the manifold, including a stuck PCV valve or deteriorated PCV connection to the manifold.

Racing along at en elevated RPM, enough to shift into 3rd with applying the gas pedal. The next morning when I went out I first wiggled the throttle cable than started the car. It ran fine. I turned it off and on several times and it worked fine. The tach was working again. I think I'll replace the cluster and go from there. I know the cluster shouldn't have anything to do with the fuel injection but it seems to be linked with this problem somehow and it needs replacing anyways. Maybe it's causing such a severe short as to mess up all systems? Also I noticed my oil dipstick and the plastic housing it sits in are cracked, I'll replace those as well but I'm wondering if there could be a vacuum leak from there that could be causing me trouble? I'll also follow your advice and squirt some cleaner into the air control valve....