well first make sure that the black wire at the cluster is actually ground.
make sure there is 12 volts on the yellow wire at the cluster. yah the fuse is there, but if the wires carrying the power isn't...
b16aEGcivic is right, the tach has nothing to do with the VSS, it gets signal from the ignitor unit in the distributor.
If the power is missing nothing will work in the cluster other than the high beam indicator and the turn signals.
if the ground is gone nothing will work except the trunk/hatch light, the check engine light, seat belt light, e-brake light and the low oil pressure light.
if absolutely nothing works, then make sure the plugs are plugged in all the way. there are three of them to plug in, two gray(power/ground/signals) and one yellow(airbag).
if everything checks out there, it's time to try a different cluster.