>  My temp needle barely gets out of the white, except for one or two occasions in the last three years where it got to half.

If you leave it siting at idle, where is the gauge needle when the
radiator fan turns on? If it's below the halfway mark, then your
thermostat is probably correct and only the gauge circuit has issues.

--
John Bange
'90 Vanagon - "Geldsauger"