1997 cavalier overheating

I have changed out the t-stat, radiator and water pump on the car and its still trying to overheat, It seems the thermostat is not opening but i tested it in water before hand and it opened up. the car got hot enough today for fan to kick in but lower radiator tube that comes from thermostat location was cool to touch so its not opening. has anyone experienced this before? there is no white smoke or bubbles in overflow tank and I am not loosing coolant. I have heat as well it just seems thermostat is not opeing

If you installed the thermostat correctly I've had plugged radiators and the bottom hose will be cool and the top radiator hose hot.
Normally when the thermostat opens the top hose gets hot.
You can install a thermostat backwards and they don't work correctly.

How hot is it getting? The fan will turn on under normal conditions to help maintain a certain heat.

I have no idea on the actual number I just have a gauge with C and H on it and it normally hangs in the middle but its getting to the top of the range and the fan kicks on. I have taken an infrared thermometer and on back side of t-stat it reads about 200-210 but hose on back side that goes to lower radiator is cool to touch

If the flow is wrong on the thermostat the car will almost pop the radiator cap before opening.

ok so if the flow is right, other than temperature I don't know why its not opening. If I turn cars ac on, the fan immediately kicks on so that's working properly.

One fan is operated by temperature. The other fan turns on with the air conditioning.

200-210°F is not really a big deal. It's at the high end of the normal range, but it's still normal. If you want to bring it down, change the coolant and flush the radiator.
The issue at hand here seems to be why your temperature gauge is showing such a high reading when your actual temperature isn't that bad. Maybe the the temperature sensor is going bad, maybe the gauge is lying to you as a result.

it has new coolant and radiator in it. I figured if it was 200+ the thermostat would have opened. I have also replaced the ECT as well.

When the engine is up to operating temperature tap the fan motor with a small hammer if the fan starts the motor is bad.
Even thou the thermostat opened when tested it could have gone bad.

i am also wondering if it is just a thermostat issue, its one of the carquest ones from advance auto. debating on getting a stant one to change to.

You could try switching it out. Make sure you get the right one. Sometimes they have options for what temp you want it to open maybe the replacement was a 200 and your previous was a 180.

i actually ordered an acdelco one last night, its the oem one for the car. I'll keep youll updated once I get it switched out.

Hold your hand on the hose when the thermostat opens you will feel it heat up quickly.

Update....put the oem one in car and ran for about 20-25 mins and it opened right up. check my temps with IR gun as well. its a 180 tstat and I read about 190 or so on engine side before I could tell it opened and the other hose to lower radiator got warm.