318 overheating

nm9stheham said
^^^ Thermostat in backwards? The round 'button' faces into the intake....not into the t-stat housing.

Thanks...yes, thermostat is in properly... have been working on cars since 1952 and let me tell you, THIS ONE HAS ME STUMPED...laughter, insane laughter...here is another post with the approximate story:

-Lean??? Throttle body FI here (1990 Ram D100/150 2 wheel drive automatic LWB pickup)
-Kink in bottom hose? Nahhh, all have wire coils
-Air pockets, nahh, drilled 3/32" hole in stat
-All hoses, clamps, water pump, stat...NEW
-Drilled stat since problems persisted...no such luck...problem continues
-Water moves in radiator at temp
-I shortened and lowered discharge hose so it is below radiator fill cap
-Definitely good stat (Stant 195 deg F.)
-Good pressure cap (16 lb)
-No, no bubbles...head gaskets are not leaking...once the heat is normal, this truck runs all day and night flawlessly...It is 26 years old and ran flawlessly for 25 years. I went 14 years without any major repairs.
-YES, pushes water out of overflow tank then bunches of hot hot steam
-Add 3 quarts of cold water to hot radiator and gauge goes down to normal and everything is OK for the rest of the day.
-Gets savagely hot first 3 miles, EVERY morning. EVERY SINGLE DAMN MORNING FOR 3 months...intense problem for almost a year now...I am going mad and insane. Off and on for 12 years, now it won't go away.
-It has been flushed 6 or 7 times and rinsed 30 or so times...Radiator fins blown out....nothing in them. No transmission cooler (disconnected 25 years ago) Exterior tranny cooler is free and clear of the radiator. The transmission started doing wacky things 10 years ago and it still does, with band material in the pan and hilarious shifts up and down at the strangest times...but it finally gets into 3rd gear after a few miles and works fine the rest of the day. I have hauled a big loaded trailer and truck bed many times (Like 70 full loads) and I have pulled stumps with the truck for years as well as pulled all the windows out of my old house for replacement. Pulled down many houses, fences, and sheds with it ever since I bought it. It has some minor dents but why would I get rid of it? This overheating is maddening and makes no sense whatsoever. I am [email protected] or 1-360-465-2809

Desperate in WA state...thanks for any help