Your after a circuit like this, I use them for testing instrument clusters, for the values on the schematic its control range is 6.7-1340 ohms, but this can be tweaked a little by adjusting the current measuring resistor, the 9V is only for programming addresses.
You set the dac to use external Vref, you then end up with a constant resistance, and a maximum current limit, which helps things survive when you mess up.
Essentially its a constant current source, but its scaled by the external voltage. this can work very close to 0V, but its rare that it is needed,
In reality you could use a constant current LED driver and PWM its dimming input, most gauges are 0.5-10mA, with the resistance range only depending on the coil used inside the gauge,