Thermostat spacer

Don't know. You could always hook up one of the heater hoses there (Pontiac used to do that). Then use the empty heater hose location up front for your sensor.

I'm going to do just that. Tap the rear of the intake and put my heater core hose there. Then I'll put the sensor in to replace the coolant hose fitting. Thanks for the idea, I hope it works.