So, I just replaced my stock gauges with some MAC (cobra style) white face gauges.....got em in, they look great...anyways I turned the lights on after it got dark out, the lighting is horrible. So I emailed MAC asking if all were like this, if it was a common problem, etc....They told me that ford's gauges have different thicknesses behind the gauges to allow different amounts of light in certain spots. For example, the numbers directly in front of the bulbs get more light than numbers farther away; hence the numbers in front of the bulbs have a thinner space to allow light through. And it ends up all being even in the end. MAC's gauges have the same thickness all the way around, so you can kind of spot where the bulbs are.
Now as for LED's, my idea is that the led's you chose (i think everyone seems to be buying the little 5 led bulbs) give more even light, so if you have stock gauges, the thick/thin spots all receive the same light.......I bought the led's but have yet to switch them in. Wanted to see the gauges at night before i did the swap. So my question for you is, are you running stock gauges with led's and having issues?
I apologize for the long post........