Yes, that is a good idea. Someone at work told me the same thing.

Don't know if its the same issue on an '82, but on my '69 the sender is grounded when it is threaded into the block - don't use any thread sealer or teflon tape.

My new sender came with a sealer already on the threads. Good point though! I underdtand that some of the senders like the oil temp, knock and water/coolant temp sensors need to be grounded VIA the threads and people can still use Teflon or other sealers, but only on like half the threads, so there is still a good ground.