Well good news guys!
I had a faulty temp sensor from Kragen. I bought a $30 Delphi one (GM part) and lone behold it works fine. My computer says it's 195.......and the gauge says it's 210 (so a little off still) but I have a 180 t-stat to put in this weekend. I want to do that just for a piece of mind
I installed the new one no different than the old one. A little teflon tape for sealing and screwed it in. I ran the motor and when the T-stat opened it read right smack in the middle. I figured though with a lower T-stat it would read below the half way point and I wouldn't suffer too much in any engine related field.
Thanks for all your help though guys, it did lead me in the right direction. Now I just have to deal with Kragen on getting refunded on a sensor that's faulty.