Ok, never mind what I said about some dialog box showing up in fsx, that's not the solution. I've gotten some of the guages to work by following hagar's directions for the b737-800 cab files and learjet panel folder.
It should work if you paste copies of the CAB files from the Panel folders of the default B737_800 & Lear45 into FSX\Gauges. The files are named B737_800.cab & Lear_45_XML.cab. You will also need F-86D Gauges.cab included in the zipfile.
But still can't get the afterburners and fx to work on any aircraft I've downloaded.
I can't comment on other aircraft unless you tell me which ones they are so I can check them out. For the Blackbird paste the 5 included FX files into FSX\Effects. Toggle the AB ON/OFF with the L (lights) key. This is purely a visual effect & will work without the Afterburners being selected.