I have a 97 Caravan. The 2 issues it is having currently are with the brakes and the gauges.

We'll start with the gauges because that is the first issue to arise. All my dashboard gauges are out, and have been for a few days. I cannot see my odometer or gears. My gas, speedometer, RPM, and temp all just stay at 0. It is not the first time it has done this, but it usually comes back after a day or so. It has been 4 days and still nothing. It started last year around Halloween.

The brake issue is a bit more pressing. No pun intended. The brake pedal goes to the floor, and the van barely slows down. This happened suddenly. It was fine at the light, I hit the freeway and BAM no brakes. I did make it home safely. The brake fluid is filled to proper levels. I just put new brakes in about 2 months ago. They will not pump up.

Any ideas as to what could be causing this?? I've heard "slave cylinder" thrown around, but couldn't find anything online to back that up.

 

Good bet you have the 3rd generation plague - cracked solder joints on the instrument cluster circuit board. You'll have to remove the cluster and retouch the solder joints securing the connector to the board. Try smacking the dash above the cluster as a temp fix.

Air in the system, bad master cylinder/booster. Nothing to mess with. Let a pro look at it.