'97 Concorde Overheating - Head Gasket?

[Dave in Nashville]

Our 97 3.5 w/170k miles overheated while waiting in line to pick up kids from school. Blew hole in Reservoir and died.

Towed to Radiator shop he installed new res. tank and pressured up and says it's losing pressure so he believes it's a head gasket.

Called a couple local shops and they said if it's a head gasket, say a prayer and sell it for parts. "Aluminum heads, can't be fixed, too expensive, blah" Obviously not fans of the Concorde.

A couple of questions, please, before I sell it for parts.

1. It runs fine but will overheat quickly - would it not run rough if blown head gasket?
2. The reservoir is empty now after I ran it today. I could hear bubbling and steam noises coming from in there, but could not see any leaks, but it's so hard to see in there.

3. Is there a definitive test for head gasket? Compression test?

4. If it is the dreaded Head Gasket, is it worth fixing? Could I attempt myself with Medium skill level? Assuming I have the tools and the Manual?

thank you for reading and any suggestions are welcome. I really like the car and hate to think of parting it out.

Dave in Nashville