[jakegday]

if your water pump was the problem, it still would have overheated without the thermostat, but you said it didnt,

try exchanging your thermostat before just going in there and buying a new one, you could also put it in a pan of boiling water and see if it opens, however thats a pretty shitty test since you have no idea what temperature the water is when the thermostat is open, like it could be a 180 degree thermostat, that doesnt open till 200 degrees, that thermostat would be bad but you wouldnt know it cuz the boiling water would have opened it up anyways