91 300E, 129K

I just noticed on my drive home today that my oil gauge peaks at 2.75 when pegged. I could have sworn that it used to go to a full 3.0, but I really don't remember. For all I know, maybe it always did this? Anyway, at idle in D, it is at about 1.0 or just slightly below and goes all the way to 2.75 pretty quickly when gas is applied, perhaps around 2500 RPM or thereabouts (I'll have to check again to be sure). Is this bad? Shouldn't it go all the way to 3.0? What damage could be caused by this lower pressure? It troubles me that there isn't a red zone either at the top or bottom of the gauge to indicate that the needle is sitting somewhere it shouldn't.

I just replaced my water pump last night, and got to thinking: could I have disturbed a wire or sensor in the process that might be contributing to this lower pressure reading? Could there be a higher resistance somewhere as a result of me jostling a connection or maybe spilling coolant on it? Where exactly is the oil pressure sending unit located?

I am hyper paranoid about damaging something by starving the engine - is this an overreaction? For the record, I am running 20W50 and don't burn a drop of oil. The engine is in perfect running condition. I just resealed the upper cam timing cover a few days ago to fix chronic seeping. I also just checked my oil level, and it is just under the high mark on the dipstick.

Any opinions please?

Thanks in advance!

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