kay so.
1. brand new thermostat.
2. radiator full to the brim.
3. can blow on the end of the lower rad hose that meets the thermostat housing and coolant will pour out the end of the opening where the thermostat goes. so i dont think my rad is clogged. and the radiator is only a few months old...
4. after warm up my upper rad hose will get really good and hot BUT the lower hose is cold.
5. my fans are NOT turning on like they should be.

Sorry if this is captain obvious but I want a second opinion before I try to change my water pump before work tomorrow morning.

I THINK ITS THE WATER PUMP because...
the fan isn't kicking on because the lower hose isn't heating up. the upper hose is hot and the lower isn't SOOOOO yeah thats all that I could think it would be.

 

Remove the thermostat and see if the fan runs.If fan runs, but still overheating, its probably your pump,radiator or head gasket.If fan does not run,fix the fan issue first. If the overheating is fixed, check thermostat for proper opening/closing temperatures. There were cases of new thermostats not working properly. Try to test car with a known good working thermostat.

 

Did you bleed the system after all that?

 

Bleed the air out of the coolant.
Jack the front end up park or park on an incline, take the radiator cap off let the car get to operating temp keep toping off the radiator till the fans come on. If the fans arennt coming on check all the connections to the fan switch to the fan itself and the wiring between.

 

even if the wiring is fine the fans wont turn on if the coolant that flows threw the fan temp sensor to trip it and turn it on. my lower rad hose is cold. I burped all the air out of the lines. it. I ran it with out a thermostat still over heats. the thermostat works be cause with the radiator cap off for the first part of cold start up the water wont flow thru the upper rad hose, until like 180 degrees it will start flowing ie the thermostat is functioning properly and opens up.

I'm just going to get a new pump here in a sec and some rad flush and report back, hopefully before I have to rely on this car to get me to work.

 

Clogged radiator? Take the upper hose off and see if coolant is pushing threw the block. If not than the pumps bad. Any coolant leaking from the weep hole?

 

And if the engine is reaching 180 with no thermostat the fans should come on. Check the wiring

 

Jump the connector on the fan switch and see if the fan comes on. If it does not make the fan turn on then your temperature switch is bad. If the fan turns on when you jump the connector, then the switch is good.

If the fan switch is good, bleed the coolant system. Sometimes when theres air bubbles in the tstat housing, it can cause the switch to not trigger (and thus not turning the fan on)