[Ray H]

The muddy fuel sounds like rust. 96 was the last year for steel tanks. That would account for all your problems except the lights. Thats probably a lose connector. Take the connectors off around the area youve been playing in and "tweak" or twist the pins slightly with a set of needle nose pliers so they make better contact. Smear some dielectric grease in the connectors and plug them back together.
As for the tank. It could be there is alot of sediment in the bottom of your tank. Have you let it run real low on fuel recently? You'll probably end up pulling that tank out and flushing it. Might as well just replace it if you pull it out though.