[tripletdaddy]

In a way it would be easier to be able to just replace the temp sending unit or the engine coolant temperature sensor, than go through all the possibilities and test for them. I am going to assume you can test the first two components to prove out they are bad and need replacing. If the above ect sensor is bad it could actually, believe it or not, affect the trans. Is the problem at the stop possibly the engine bogging down or hesitating, as some posters think trans, when it's been the engine?

I have come across several people with air trapped in their cooling system. Are you not getting heat inside at all, does it fluctuate like your temp guage? Feel if the two hoses to the heater core to see if they seem to be as hot as other hoses when the car is warmed up. Can you get the temp to fluctuate just idling parked as it would be nice to track what's happening?

1)temp sending unit, has single wire to it, tan or brown body, grounded to the engine, test from terminal to its body or engine:
hot engine 10 ohms
cold engine 74 ohms

2)ground disconnected red/white wire terminal to temp sender, turn on key, guage should be at hot. if not, then problem with electrical/electronic system not sender.

3)the engine coolant temp sensor has two wires with a gray body. At 65 degF, you should get 40,500 ohms at the two terminal on the sender with the wires off. and engine cold. with the engine fully warmed up 180 to 220 degF will give 3800 to 1840 ohms. Hotter gives lower the ohms. Measure across the two terminals of the disconnected wires you should get around 5 volts. Do the measurements at the same time, two cold ohms readings, then two hot, etc.