running warm after new water pump

got my water pump and timing belt changed earlier this month. car runs fine, except the needle on the thermostat is ever so slightly warmer than normal. i've had an episode recently with rotten and leaking heater hoses and such, but after replacing every single one and refiling with coolant and water, i'm still running just as warm.

now i'm not dumb. i know it's AUGUST and i live in the gulf coast area, not as hot as you can get, but damn near close on a sunny humid day. i've owned the car for 3 years. i know where the temp guage ALWAYS sits, and it's a little higher.

it's stable though. so perhaps i'm reading higher due to a more efficient water pump moving more coolant around to the thermostat. that possible? hints? opinions? think i've got my antifreeze to water ratio wrong?? add more water to get cooler?

Make sure you bleed coolant system of air. will cause problems if air is trapped in there. Like overheating and so forth. also could cause bouncing idle.

Possible your radiator is a little blocked up or some of the cooling fins have rotted away? Did you change the thermostat? GL