[Lady72nRob71]

-and none of this explains why I burn the water whenever I had tried to cook...


One other thing was to make sure your lower rad hose has a spring in it. New hoses now days omit them to save money. Cheaper hoses are thinner which may collapse during higher RPMs. My 86 Olds 307 hose has a spring.
If it collapses while driving, the temp can go up and come down again at idle. I think this is the issue with my 72 as it has a cheap hose on it.
Also i am going to pull the block drains and flush it well. Timing needs checking as well.
I like the 180 degree Mr Gasket high flow thermostats (otterzone part). I have one in the Ford and the 86 Olds. Both read 180-190 on the gauges and with my IR thermometer (which is a good way to check gauge accuracy.) Let us know what does fix it in the end...