heater hose routing

That heater hose routing will work, the "pressure" side of the pump will push coolant thru the heater core and empty into the lower pressure upper rad, being "emptied" thru the lower hose by the suction side of the pump, but by doing so, the function of the thermostat is likely greatly reduced, increasing warm-up time.

The early heating feature of the heater core while the thermostat is closed is negated by this routing, otherwise it should be quite functional.. imho

Drilling an 1/8 or smaller hole in the thermostat to burp the air from the system merely avoids that nasty surge of coolant that spews back when the thermostat opens, 10 secs work to avoid a wet (slippery, pet unsafe) floor. jmo.

cheers