2008 Fuel Gauge Problems

Another fuel strip went out last weekend. That makes SIX for three bikes. Three on one bike, two on one, and one on a previous bike. This time, instead of taking the tank off the bike and removing the fuel pump like I did the last 5 strip replacements, I had Viki (with the smaller hands that would fit thru the filler hole with the lid removed) reach down in there and wiggle the plug out using a needle nose pliers. I lifted the securing tab away with a long small screw driver and it stayed fairly well unhooked while she pulled out the plug. The plug is really tight, but a small amount of wiggling and pulling at the same time...and the plug came out. Whew. The new strip is showing the same fill mark on the fuel bar with the gas that I put back in. So all should be good without recalibrating.
I measured the old strip and the 2500 ohm strip was open. The heater strip was intact. The break is at the junction of where the wires attach to the strip inside of an epoxy blob. The strip itself looks fine. The heater on the new strip measures 36 ohms. I ordered two new strips and they both measure about the same, 2500 ohms plus or minus 50 ohms or so, and 35 ohms plus or minus an ohm or two. So I have a spare

BTW, the need to calibrate is no longer according to a tech I know. I suspected so, and the fuel level came out to the right bar after we put the new strip in. The thinking is that if anything, the adaptation values can be reset which might help the "range" catch up.