wanna sell it? i can maybe lend a hand if u decide to fix it im in sc as well

 

you could always do what i did, find a scrap truck with a good motor, and spend a weekend swapping it out? i payed 700$ for a scrap truck that was in an accident, and i got almost 2000$ dollars out of it, like brand new tires on it, motor, all sorts of stuff.

 

I'm close to 200 miles into driving it without a thermostat now. It's really bizarre -- the ONLY difference than a perfectly operating engine is that it takes slightly longer to get up to operating temperature. After that...it stays just to the cool side of the center of the gauge, which is where it always was before these problems began. Is it a "ticking time bomb?" I don't know.

At this stage I'm going to just keep on driving it and keep my eyes open for a nice used 3rd gen. Prices should be dropping with the gas "crisis." Thanks for all the suggestions.