picked up a trek,with shimano shifters,has 2 little round dial in front of the handle bars,are those supose to tell u what gear your in?they have a minny cable goin from the shifter to the round gauges?anyone know if thats what there for?

Yes. That i what they are for. I remember setting those up years ago and figuring they were a cheap gimmick to replicate the 'Flightdeck' computers that connect to more expensive Shimano shifters.

They were only included on fairly inexpensive bikes and I'm sure most of them broke or stopped working long ago - less expensive components are generally less durable, and these seemed to be even moreso.