Yeah, make sure that is switched to the 'on' position.
When you say warm, what is the temp on the guage? Mine sits smack on in the middle and yes, it does get very hot in there compared to other cars. I think it is partially because of the protector shield underneath the engine stops heat from escaping on the bottom -> the only place for it to go is up! But I am fairly certain this is perfectly normal, I have had no issues with it at all. But get your dash fixed :P.
Check this link regarding the lowering:
http://planetsoarer.com/lower/Lower.html
A lot of the info you will be looking for will be on soarercentral and/or planet soarer. They are great and have had everything I needed queried. Have a poke around. It also sounds like you might have 'blinky dash' - another common problem with the soarers.
cheers