Sorry - should have mentioned that it's a 5-speed!

 

If you wanna check temp sender accuracy.

 

Well I have to laugh - I was doing some research and found an awesome list of possible reasons for overheating on the other forum and the first one was vacuum leaks - which helped me remember I had two suspicious connections coming off the intake. Got them both fixed and it made a HUGE difference!! I drove it today with temps in the high 90s and it did OK - mostly around 220, sometimes 225, and once 230. It's better than it was, and now I'm hearing a high-pitched whine/squeal that I never heard before, so I'm wondering if I have more vacuum leaks. Going to try the old cigar smoke into the intake trick and see if I can spot anything, then rent a vacuum gauge. GETTING CLOSER!! Funny that several times during this process the cooling has improved, though not completely - this issue, like many others I've had (a rough start, for instance) has many small causes that add up. I don't regret replacing the entire cooling system one part at a time - money well spent for sure!

 

Well news update - finally gave up and took it to a good shop. They told me my brand-new NAPA fan clutch was bad! No telling how long it would have taken me to figure that one out! It had all the symptoms of a bad fan clutch but I figured there's no way, I just replaced it......anyway, I'm just glad it's running like it should now. Sure appreciate all the help here and Merry Christmas!!