I have just recently noticed that my overflow tank is empty and I have splash marks of coolant on the underside of the hood around areas of where the rad would lie.

My temp. guage operates normal and no signs of overheating?

Is this a headgasket problem? The only thing is, my overflow tank is empty and not overflowing.....

 

Sounds like you have a leaky hose, the radiator has a crack or the radiator cap is faulty. When the car cools, see if the radiator is still full and then fill the overflow bottle to where it needs to be and see if you cant figure out where its leaking at. Doesnt sound like a head gasket considering you see coolant on the hood.

 

would I be able to tell if the rad was cracked by visually looking at it or do I need to get it pressurized?

There is no coolant underneath my car for signs of leaking other than whats sprayed on the hood.

 

Its probably just a slice in the hose and if the crack/cut isn't all that bad then it will only do it while pressurized. Basically just crank the car, let it heat up and watch for spraying coolant. I had a bad hose going from the side of the head to the back of the intake manifold that was spraying and its a fairly obvious thing to see.