2006 GC Running Warm and drop in Fuel economy

My 2006 Grand Caravan has all the sudden started to run a bit warmer than before.(based upon the guage position and the occasional smell of coolant.) We noticed that the radiator cooling fans were not coming on even when the AC was turned on. Found the Relay in front of the Radiator, replaced and the fans now work. Now the issue is that the guage still runs warm.
I am at 57K miles so I flushed the radiator and changed the thermostat. Still has not changed the temp. I also just changed oil and filter along with air filter.
We took a trip and the fuel mileage has also dropped. We normally get between 23-25 Mpg. On this trip it has dropped down to around 18. Speed and distance were the same as previous trips.
Please, if anyone knows what more I can check before having a shop look at it?

Maybe a weak pump, bad ECT sensor or gauge or worst case - at this point a small amount of exhaust leaking past the head gasket into the coolant. You can buy a test kit at parts stores to test for exhaust in the coolant.