Honda Element Speedometer Is Not Working And check engine light is on!

Time for a professional to have a look. Sounds like a number of problems to me.

From what I've seen, when the Vehicle Speed Sensor, usually mounted on the transmission tail shaft, is going out, it plays havoc with the speedometer, and this can cause a light (orange) CEL. When the VSS is gone, it no longer works the speedometer and that causes other components to no longer work, and that can turn the CEL to solid red because the computer can no longer read anything related to speed (wheel sensors, brakes, etc.). I'd say that most likely, the VSS is gone and needs to be replaced. You can easily do this yourself, but It might be best to have a mechanic do it, as there might also be other things wrong with your twenty-year old car. And if so, you're going to need a mechanic anyway.