5 in the cluster (I think, lol!) and 1 in the shifter. Someone has posted a picture of the openings and polarity on the back of the cluster, search for guage cluster.
The shifter does look a little bit brighter around N/D even with the inverted LED but it's not bad. You should look for that other thread, he used 3 standard sized LEDs per opening in the cluster, after trying 1 and not being happy... I tried a single 194 mount (much easier) first and was happy enough... but his way is probably brighter.
As for taking it apart twice, I just drove around with the cluster unscrewed and the trim off until I got my bulbs, it lays right down in there even without being screwed down. It's not pretty, but it's fully drivable without the 6 screws and trim piece.
Sorry I haven't had an update on the a/c controls yet, I've been busy trying to stop the water from coming in through the doors, among other non-Alero things!
I used black silicone caulk on the passenger side door, above where the stock (and poorly installed) butyl was... It was 64 out today (WTF? This weather is VERY unusual in NJ!) so after 2 days to cure, I hit it with the hose and it seemed to work well enough, so I put the interior panel back on.
It's a temporary fix... removing the stock adhesive didn't seem to be going anywhere and it's cold out. Caulk stinks a few days when curing under ideal temp, but who cares... I'm a man I can deal with that!
I'm probably going to do the driver side Monday if it's not raining or snowing. In a few months when it warms up more, I'll probably re-do both doors the right way, with new plastic and butyl.
Anyway, I'm thinking about trying to find little bulb condoms to go over the stock incands in the HVAC controls, I really don't want to try desoldering them from the circuit board and installing LEDs there, because my soldering skills suck. I'm sure I'll have to, but I'm trying to avoid it. Either way I'm determined to change color of the HVAC controls (and maybe the radio) before summer rolls around.