ok i never got to drive it yet but i let it idle for 30 min or so
i retook off the gasket maker i put on and re did it looked fine
so i ran it idling and then laser tempered different locations
at the Tstat - 190ish
at the tstat probe sensor - 170ish
at the top heater hose - 140ish
at the top of rad cap - 160ish
at the top of the rad core - 175ish
does that help at all