Hello-
I have had the exact same problems of starting and immediately dying, the dead gauges and the whole thing. Spent a fortune at the Dodge dealer with no success. They couldn't figure out what was causing it, even when they couldn't get it started. They replaced the BCM, etc, etc. They said bring it back when it does it again and they will replace more parts, but they could not guarantee anything.
I tried whacking the dash and it worked for me. I turned the key to the "on" position before I did it, so I could see what was happening. After I whacked it, the gauges came immediately to life and the thing started and continued running.
Clearly, this does not fix the problem, but it kind of narrows it down a bit. A few days later I had to do it again, but I really did not hit it that hard and it worked again.
I am still totally disgusted with the whole situation, however.
-John