New well pump gauge reads zero despite good pressure??

We have a 20-year-old submersible pump in a deep well (~500-600′?). The tank capacity is–I dunno–maybe 10 gallons. For the past few weeks, while filling white plastic buckets at a hydrant (to water our small livestock), we’ve noticed an abundance of little black flecks in the bottom of the bucket. They are flat, thin and soft, not sandy or metallic-seeming, and sink to the bottom of the bucket rather than floating.

Today, we noticed, after filling a couple of buckets, that the water pressure began slowing to a trickle. In doing a little reading online, my partner concluded that the black flecks could be clogging up works. He took a look inside our water well house and noticed that the gauge was stuck on 35 psi–unusual, since the gauge reading usually fluctuates between 30 and 40 according to whether the water is running, the pump is cycling, etc. Thinking the needle was stuck, he tapped on the gauge, which was so old and corroded it fell apart. He went to town to get another gauge and installed it, first cutting off the electricity to the pump. He forgot to relieve the pressure and water squirted all over the place.

Anyhow, he turned the electricity back on and waited about 10 minutes. The pump clicked on, and the water pressure seems fine now. BUT…the pressure gauge is reading zero. This is hard to understand, since water is gushing out nicely now.

I’m glad our water pressure is back to normal, but sooner or later, we may need to actually monitor the pressure, and it would be nice to have the gauge working correctly. Did we just buy a bum gauge, or is there something else wrong? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

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New well pump gauge reads zero despite good pressure??