ok, well i swapped my whole instrument cluster.  and the needle still reads
over the red dot. sooo...its not the gauge in the dash.

i started the van, let idle for like 15 mins..   main coolant tank and lines
out of tank were hot.   but hoses at front "firewall" were not hot.   hoses
coming out of bottom of rad were not hot.

heater blows hot air.   running the heater didnt seem to have any effect on
the temperature gauge..

my guess is thermostat...?

chris