No, they are not the same bulbs as the push in type license plate and side marker size (at least for my gen Civic). They are actually quite smaller.

As for the gear selection, you can do two things, there should be leads from where the auto-shifter was, find the wires that lead to the selector and either cut them or ground them... I forgot how my friend did it, but I could ask. If worst comes to worse, depending on what aftermarket gauge face overlays you have, you can try maybe electrical tape over the numbers, light will not shine through that! Then cover with indiglo's or white face. Good luck on that.